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Day 8

The vampire woke with the uncomfortable feeling of something being off. He looked around the room, trying to determine what it was until he figured out that it was the sensation the slayer kept talking about. The sense of falling asleep one place and waking up in another. It was downright spooky.

Now I know why the Slayer is so damned cranky.

He had only experienced it once so far. The night he went to sleep in South America only to wake up back in Sunnyhell. Of course, he had been expecting it. Knowing it what was coming; he had let himself relax the night before, and allowed himself to forget what was going to happen come morning. He would be best served to try to remember that until the spell wore off. Vertigo was not a pleasant feeling at all.

Spike had just pulled on his jeans when he heard the crypt door crash open upstairs. "Bloody hell. Now what?"

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

Climbing up the ladder to the upper level of the crypt, he groaned silently when he saw Adam standing in the middle of the room. Spike had forgotten that the demonic Frankenstein would seek him out if he failed to show up for their meeting. When the marks on his neck began to tingle like they were on fire, it took all of his willpower not to reach up and touch them.

"Well, mate, what took you so long?" Spike snarled to cover his own surprise at finding Adam in his crypt. In an attempt to ignore his surroundings, the vampire rummaged around in his duster for his cigarettes. The combination of Adam and tingles had set his nerves on edge.

"You failed to make our appointed meeting. I was forced to seek out your presence to see what had detained you," Adam stated calmly.

"Oh, yeah, that." Spike flopped down in his chair to stare at Adam. "I overslept. Had a busy couple of days as of late." He pointed his cigarette-laden fingers at the cyborg. "You want me to break up the Slayer's friends, am I right?" The tingles suddenly stopped and Spike raised his eyebrows. Odd.

"Yes, of course," Adam announced. "You are quite perceptive."

"I'll need somethin' to gain their confidence. Maybe some information to sell while I charm my way into their good graces." Spike sat up when the tingles started again. The information on those disks is important.

Twenty minutes later, Adam was gone. Spike sprawled in his chair while he sipped his blood, waiting for the Slayer to show up. He could feel her getting closer through the bite marks. He had always known when she was close by, but now the feeling was growing in intensity. Where before he'd known when Buffy hit the cemetery, now he knew when she was an entire block from the gates.

She burst into the crypt with a cup holder from the Espresso Pump in one hand and a bag from the Donut Drive-Thru in the other. She set the holder and bag down on the sarcophagus before hopping up to sit. "So, what's with all the tinglies this morning?"

Buffy pulled a donut hole out of the bag to pop in her mouth. Mid-chew, she suddenly noticed that Spike was shirtless and she desperately tried to ignore the fact that he looked marvelous. Why did that sound like Billy Crystal's Saturday Night Live character, Fernando, in her mind?

Spike watched as the Slayer looked everywhere in the room but at him. She was popping donut holes in her mouth as fast as she could eat them while she waited for him to answer. He chuckled at the cute picture she made with her cheeks puffed out like a blond chipmunk.

"I forgot about Mr. Bits comin' by if I didn't make our meetin'." Spike stood up to grab the coffee that Buffy had bought for him. He was pleased to discover that she'd gotten exactly what he liked. "There's something important on those disks I mentioned."

"But we can't get those until dark and by then it'll be too late." Buffy chewed on her lip. She had to make a real effort to pay attention to his words. Who knew Spike had such a great ass? "What exactly is supposed to be on them?"

"Mission statements, design schematics, and Walsh's dirty laundry..." Spike broke off when Buffy arched her eyebrow before she covered the side of her neck. "Yeah. Me, too. There is definitely something important on those disks, but finding out just what it is won't be easy. Red said they're encrypted."

"It's still dark when I wake up at the bus station," Buffy observed. "If we get the disks first thing in the morning, maybe Willow would have time to decipher them before the day loops again."

"Might work," Spike agreed. "'M not sure that should be our highest priority right now though." He pulled out a clean t-shirt to put on, and then grabbed his boots.

"I know. We need to figure out who that guy talking to Jonathon was. So, I figure mom's out of town on a buying trip, we can hang out at the house and look at my old yearbooks." Her jaw dropped and her eyes took on a certain glassiness as he turned his back and pulled on his shirt, the muscles in his back bunching and flexing with every move.

Guh!

"Sounds like a plan," he told her, completely oblivious to her ogling. "I'll take the sewers and meet you at the house." Spike grabbed his duster and a blanket and hopped down lower level to the sewer entrance.

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

Spike wandered around Joyce's living room. He convinced himself he wasn't going to think about Buffy being upstairs in the shower, soap suds covering her naked golden body, her plump breasts all rosy and wet from the heated water.

Stop thinking about her like that, you git. Friends, remember?

Hoping for a distraction from the stirring in his groin, he stopped in front of the mantle to stare at a picture of Buffy and her friends. It made him think about her shyly presented gift of a black and red coffee mug and some packets of blood that she had picked up on the way to the house from the crypt. When he'd questioned her, she had simply replied 'friends give friends gifts'. His return statement that he had never noticed that she got her other friends gifts earned him a sad little smile and a quick evasive shrug.

The blond vampire continued to stare at the picture he was holding. He knew that Buffy cared deeply for her friends; it was one of the things that set her apart from other slayers. It was also one of the things he had admired about her from the start- something that he could admit to himself now that they were on friendly ground. He had a feeling that Buffy was rewriting the entire 'soddin' brochure'. Spike chuckled to himself as he remembered saying that after their first fight over two years ago.

Spike found himself going over the Scoobie interactions that he had witnessed in the past few months since being chipped. The vampire realized that the Slayer bent over backwards trying to please everybody except herself, even going so far as to date someone they approved of, although she herself wasn't as happy with the pillock. Spike could now see the frightened, scarred little girl hiding behind the brave front, and he vowed to be the greatest friend she had.

"Hey, Spike." Buffy's voice drifted down to him. "You can come on up. I'm decent now."

Spike put down the picture to grab the bag with mug and blood in it. Heading upstairs, he let the scent of the Slayer guide him to her bedroom, grinning at her when she waved him into her inner sanctum. He set the bag down on the dresser before he flopped down on the bed beside her.

"These are my yearbooks." Buffy curled her legs under her as she indicated the three books she was holding. "I thought we could look through them to see if we could find that creepy guy with Jonathan." She opened the first one. "Sophmore year. We moved because Mom got the job offer at the gallery and ... well ... because I sorta burned down the gym at the high school."

"How'd you manage that, luv?" Spike asked. He flipped slowly through the pages while he waited for Buffy to answer.

"It was kinda full of vampires at the time." Buffy blushed before she ducked her head.

"Ah, good reason." Spike chuckled. He stopped on a page. "A cheerleader, Slayer? Is that why you like to patrol in short skirts?"

"Yeah, sure." Buffy rolled her eyes. "Cheerleading in Sunnydale is dangerous." She pointed at one of the girls. "That's Amy. Her mother was a witch that decided to get rid of the competition so Amy could be on the squad."

Spike chuckled again, "And I thought boarding school was hard. How about this? The talent show?"

"See the dummy? He was cursed by a demon to be a puppet." Buffy looked at the picture and smiled. "The demon almost killed Giles."

Spike flipped a few more pages to the end of the book. "Your dress looks a bit worse for wear in this picture."

Buffy leaned in to stare at the picture. "Yeah, the Master bit me. See the bandages on my neck? Then he threw me in a puddle and I drowned. That's why the dress looks so bad." She tilted her head and looked at him speculatively. "I have a question for you. Did you feel when the Master dusted?"

"Me? Nah, not so much, but Dru did." Spike looked at the picture of Buffy smiling with her friends. He remembered that night vividly; it had been the very first time that his Sire had mentioned Buffy. The dark haired vampiress had gone wild with jealousy over the girl. Swimming in the deep side of the Nile River, Spike had convinced himself that it had been over Angel.

"That must have made her hard to deal with." Buffy smiled at Spike sympathetically. She still hated the ho with a burning passion, but Spike was her friend now.

"Just a little. She was sick from garlic poisoning at the time, but a new doll or pretty dress cheered her right up." Spike wasn't stupid enough to mention that it was the pretty girl inside the pretty dress was that made Dru the happiest. He didn't want the Slayer brassed off at him and to put their tentative friendship in jeopardy.

"I honestly don't know how you put up with it for over a hundred years, Spike," Buffy muttered with a compassionate glance. The two blonds gave each other shy smiles before returning to their task. She flipped through to the last page of the yearbook.

"I didn't see the guy in this book, Slayer." Spike dropped the book over the side of the bed before he picked up the next one. He flipped through the first few pages until he got to the page with the 'Welcome Back to School, Students' caption. He stared at one of the pictures for a minute before asking, in a voice tinged with remorse, "was she one of your friends, luv?"

Buffy was surprised by the emotions that Spike was expressing. She glanced at the picture he was studying, and she covered his hand with her own. Buffy knew he had been trying hard the past few days despite his nature. She took in his worried look. "No, not really, Spike. Snyder had it in for both of us, is all. I'm not mad about that. If I was mad about anything from back then, it would be Ford, but if you hadn't have turned him he would have just found someone else. At least I was able to stake him before he hurt anyone."

"Made a promise, luv." Spike turned his face away from Buffy. "I always keep m' promises."

Buffy squeezed his hand gently before she pointed to yet another picture. "That one was taken about thirty minutes before you showed up. See the look on Willow's face?" She giggled while she bit her lip. "I didn't know that I was supposed to put sugar in the lemonade."

"Tart," Spike quipped. He turned to the next page where he found a picture of the Scoobies and their classmates standing outside a museum. "Field trip, luv?"

"Yep, that's when the Inca Mummy Girl made the moves on Xander. First was Ms. French. She turned out to be a giant praying mantis that wanted to lay her eggs in him and bite off his head during sex, and then it was Ampata, who wanted to suck his life force out with a kiss."

Spike arched his eyebrow before he laughed deeply. "Now I see why Red said Harris is a demon magnet."

"Still haven't seen that guy, but here we are with our baby eggs." Buffy smirked. "Turned out they were from a Bezoar demon that took over everybody's bodies except mine and Xander's. Oh, and here's Xander on the swim team. He was lucky he didn't get turned into a big fishy monster and get washed out to sea." Buffy grimaced. "Well, that just leaves senior year to look at. He's gotta be in this book somewhere."

Spike grabbed the last book and he started to thumb through it. "You ran for Homecoming queen."

"Against Cordelia. Of course, we were both late for the dance because we were kidnapped to go play Slayerfest 1998." Buffy rolled her eyes. "What a thrill."

"You both survived."

"Both lost, too." Buffy shrugged casually. "He's not in the band. Remember the Halloween costume spell and Fyarl demon Giles?" She elbowed Spike when he grinned and nodded vigorously. "The same guy that did those things made the band candy turn all the adults into horny teenagers." Buffy blushed deeply when she remembered catching her mom and Giles on the police car, but Spike was too busy studying a picture to notice.

"I think I found him, luv." Spike moved the book so she could see the picture easier.

"Oh my, that's Tucker Wells," Buffy stated softly. "He tried to set Hellhounds on the Prom goers. What's the caption say?"

"Tucker Wells ... Andrew Wells, must be brothers. Jonathan Levinson and Warren Meers," Spike recited.

"Sadly, I don't really remember much about Warren, but if he's hanging out with Tucker it can't be good," Buffy said thoughtfully. "If I was Willow I could find out everything there is to know about him in a few hours worth of hacking. God, I wish I was smart." She sighed with a dejected sigh.

Spike gave Buffy an incredulous look. "Slayer, where the hell did you get the idea that you're not smart?"

"It's no big deal, Spike," Buffy muttered, embarrassed that she revealed too much to the blond vampire. "I'm the Slayer; I don't need to be smart."

"Whoever fed you that crock of shit deserves to horsewhipped," Spike announced. He couldn't believe the waves of inadequacy he felt pouring off the petite blond girl next to him.

"Oh, please. It's not like you don't think the same thing," Buffy scoffed.

"When, Slayer? When have I ever said you're stupid?" Spike demanded. He knew he hadn't been the most pleasant of blokes being a demon and all, but he had never thought the Slayer was stupid. In fact, he thought a little too highly of the chit.

"Never mind, Spike." Buffy's eyes filled with tears. "It's not important. We should get back to figuring the out the next thing on the list." She tried to hop up off the bed, but found herself suddenly trapped by Spike's arm and leg thrown across her body.

"It is important, pet, because I don't want to hurt you again. 've never thought you were stupid," Spike whispered calmly. He attempted to send soothing vibes to her through the claim.

Wait a second. Claim? Where the hell did that thought come from?

"You've been there for my three stupidest mistakes, Spike. You even called me on all three of them," Buffy whispered. "How did you put it? Oh, right, my 'bleedin' tragic taste in men.'"

"Ah, pet, just 'cause I think you're have lousy taste in men- exceptin' my handsome self- doesn't mean I think you're stupid," Spike replied. He fiercely squashed down the idea that he had a claim of any kind on this girl. They were just friends. Friends, damn it. "I think you're bright and witty. You can bring sunshine to even the most dreariest of existences. I promise I'll try never to hurt you again. Okay, luv?"

Buffy bit her bottom lip while she peeked sideways to study Spike's face. She could feel the vampire's sincerity wash through her. She nodded slowly while she tried to blink her tears away, then jumped when a cool hand brushed the wetness off her hot cheeks.

"Good then, luv. How about I go downstairs heat up my blood and bring you something to drink?" Spike untangled himself from the Slayer's body, struggling to ignore the feeling of loss. He hopped up, grabbed his bag of blood, and was out the bedroom door before Buffy had a chance to answer.

Buffy yawned before putting her head down on her crossed wrists. I'll just shut my eyes while I'm waiting for Spike to get back. Gotta go see Giles in a few minutes. Her eyes drooped closed, her breath evened out, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Buffy knelt in front of the Lord of the kingdom. She watched the muscles play under the pale skin of his legs and feet while he dismissed the minions and other members of his court. He was completely and unashamedly naked, and by his command the rest of his subjects were also.

Thanks to her rigorous training, she knew to keep her eyes cast down and to never look upon the face of the Master unless by his direct command. The all-to-brief glimpse of him as she was ushered in left her pleasantly surprised. So few pets were fortunate enough to be gifted to such a handsome and desirable Master.

She tried not to flinch when a cool hand suddenly ghosted over her cheek.

"'ve been waiting for you, luv."

The Master's deep, rumbling voice caused a shiver to run through Buffy's body. She felt her nipples harden and moisture seeped from her cleft when his hand trailed down her neck to cup her breast. She bit her lip to hold back a whimper when he gently twisted a rosy nipple.

"Such a responsive li'l thing. I like that," he murmured. He tugged her towards him and settled her between his knees. Grasping her chin in his fingers, he raised her face to his. "Beautiful. I think 'll keep you, my pet. Hmm, how appropriate ... my pet."

Buffy nodded the best she could with her chin still caught in his fingers. Her downcast eyes caught sight of his cock, and her mouth watered at the beauty of it. It was long and thick, as pale as the rest of his body, jutting out shamelessly from a thatch of dark curls. His testicles hung heavy and full beneath his shaft. Buffy's eyes drifted closed in ecstasy at the thought of him filling every orifice of her body with his cum. Her hands seemed to move to their own volition, and her eyes snapped open when she felt one of them encircle the Master's throbbing erection while the other gently cupped his balls.

"Look at me, my pet." The Master tilted her head further back until she was forced to meet his eyes.

Buffy stared up into the Master's face. She was overwhelmed by the desired that flared in his beautiful blue eyes as her hands continued to caress his shaft and balls. Buffy breathed out his name in a long, breathy sigh, "Spike."

"So, my pet knows my name." Spike chuckled when a touch of fear entered Buffy's eyes. "'ve so much to teach you, luv. The first thing you're goin' to learn is how to please me with that hot little mouth of yours."

Buffy nibbled on her lip for a moment after Spike dropped his fingers away from her chin and slouched back on his throne while he waited for her to begin. Her eyes dropped to the part of his anatomy that she still cradled in her hands. She saw that the head of his cock was now reddish purple with need and the slit was weeping precum. The sight had her licking her lips before her eyes darted back to his face. She realized he was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen, and that she wanted to bring him as much pleasure as her extensive training allowed.

Spike's breath hissed out in a harsh gasp when her greedy mouth engulfed his cock. She felt his thighs tense beneath her hands as her soft tongue circled the sensitive bell-shaped head. Rising to her knees, she bent over him so that she could take his length more fully into her willing mouth, and he shivered when her long tresses caressed his skin as her head bobbed up and down. His fingers tangled through the silky strands and she heard him whisper brokenly about it being like sunshine covering him.

Her own arousal grew as she tasted her Master's cum. She wanted nothing more than to climb onto his lap and let his cock fill her to the brim. Buffy hoped that was what he wanted to do next. The velvety smooth texture of his cock sliding in and out of her eager mouth made her feel like a wanton animal. Scratching lightly at his balls with her nails, Buffy smiled around him when she was rewarded with a sharp grunt and an upward thrust of his hips.

Daring to open her eyes and look up at his face, she found him watching her, his blue eyes glittering with passion as they flickered with shades of molten gold. As she watched, Spike inhaled deeply, drawing in the scent of his pet's deep arousal. She could feel his orgasm building within him as the sac she was still fondling delicately tightened and drew up against his body.

She should have been frightened when he burst into game face. It was easy to see that he expected his pet to gasp or pull away in terror, but the change only excited her more. Determined to bring her Master satisfaction, she took him all the way to the root and began swallowing around him, the strong muscles of her throat milking him voraciously.

He came with a roar of her name, spurting long, cool jets of his come down her throat. Buffy took everything he had to offer and drew back to lap contentedly at anything she might have missed.

Buffy had never been so turned on in her life. Her thighs were slippery with her own arousal and it took everything she had to resist the maddening urge to slip her fingers between the silky smooth lips of her pussy and ease that ache that itched and throbbed. She knew as his pet that this would be seen as the ultimate transgression and that she would be severely punished if she went against his wishes.

At his softly spoken command, she released his still hard and pulsing member and settled back on her quivering haunches, her head lowered and hands clasped behind her in a picture of perfect submission.

She was trembling visibly when he sat up on the edge of his seat and leaned over her. Buffy hoped that he was pleased and that she hadn't done anything to incur his wrath. Punishments could be excruciating torture if one wasn't blessed with a benevolent Master.

His fingers grasped and lifted her chin once more, the faint tremor in the fingers that stroked her throat evidence of the affect she had on him. He smiled into her guarded green eyes as his hand moved lower, rough knuckles barely grazing over each diamond hard tip of her breasts. Her eyes slid closed and she moaned raggedly at the sensation of his icy skin quenching the burn of hers.

"Who are you?" he rasped, his cool breath wafting teasingly over her trembling lips.

"I am y-yours. Yours t-to command. Your p-pet," she quavered. Her voice seemed raw to her, aching with the strength of her need.

That's right," he breathed, his agile tongue worshipping at the silky column of her neck. He hands gripped her upper arms tightly and he dragged her up on her knees before him. "Mine," Spike growled against her neck.

And then his fangs were in her flesh and her world imploded.

"I love you, Spike," Buffy screamed.

Buffy's eyes popped open, and her hand flew to her throat. Staring at her bloody fingers for what seemed like forever, she failed to notice her perplexed audience of one. She leapt across the bedroom to check her neck in the mirror and found the bite marks once again livid against her skin.

Spike stood in the doorway nostrils flared and eyes glued to the blood that trickled down her smooth neck as she battled the urge to lick her throat clean. The powerful scent of the Slayer's arousal made him want to step into the room and take something that he clearly had no business wanting. Desire warred within him, and he felt like a fledgling again as he tamped down his baser instincts. Friends, he told himself over and over. I will not fall in love with the Slayer. We're friends. With that thought firmly in mind, he moved back towards the staircase.

"Hey, Slayer, I got your coke here," he called out to give Buffy time to get herself together.

Buffy grabbed a tissue to wipe her neck before she turned up the collar of her shirt. "Thanks, Spike. I think I need a pick me up, anyway. I fell asleep while you were downstairs." She took the glass from the vampire when he entered the room, but as she met his eyes she remembered the dream and blushed deeply. She turned away to hide her hot, red cheeks and stammered, "Maybe we should go see Giles in a few minutes?"

"Sounds like a plan, luv," Spike replied. "Too bad your Watcher wasn't along for this ride with us. Poor sod's feeling a bit down havin' nothing to do but sit around waitin' for you to need his help."

"I don't mean to, Spike," Buffy whispered. Even though she knew that her companion had exploited her friends’ fears and issues, it still hurt that they had allowed it to happen so easily. "How am I going to make all of them happy?"

"Buffy, are you happy?" Spike asked. He stared at the Slayer's back. He hadn't meant to upset her with his observation.

"What? Of course, I'm happy. I have my mom and my friends, and what used to be an okay boyfriend," Buffy whispered. "Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"Thought you were dumping Captain Cardboard?" Spike stepped behind Buffy and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I am!" Buffy protested. "I am. It's just kinda hard to dump him when he's gonna forget in the morning. Sometimes I think it would have been so much easier if I had just told everyone that our engagement wasn't the spell."

Spike chuckled. "Mortal enemies and best friends, eh, Slayer?"

"Yep."

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

Buffy stopped in front of Giles' apartment door. She smiled shyly at Spike while she nervously wiped her hands on her pants. For the first time in forever, she actually knocked and waited for her Watcher to answer the door instead of barging in.

Giles looked surprised to find Buffy standing there with Spike. He was even more surprised when both blonds waited until he stood back to invite them in before they entered. He couldn't help but notice when the vampire put his hand on the Slayer's lower back as they entered, and that Buffy didn't smack Spike down either verbally or physically.

"Hey, Giles. Can we talk to you?" Buffy glanced at Spike. "It's really important."

"You two aren't engaged, again, aren't you?" Giles whipped off his glasses to give them a good polish.

"Well, actually we've established that technically w-we're still engaged, but that's so beside the p-point," Buffy stammered out. "We really need your advice on a totally different Hellmouthy kinda thing."

Spike pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit down before taking a seat of his own. They waited until Giles made some tea and settled into his own seat before starting their tale. Spike and Buffy took turns explaining the first couple of repeating day, and how they had each thought that it was just themselves that was experiencing the strange phenomenon. Then they got to the day that Drusilla called the Watcher's apartment.

"Drusilla called you here, you say? How did she get the phone number?"

"Dru has always had an uncanny knack for findin' out what she wants from people." Spike smirked. "Remember when she got that info from you, Watcher?" He held his hands up in surrender when both Buffy and Giles glared at him. "Just saying."

"So both Willow and Dru did spells somehow making the day loop on itself, but only the two of you are aware of it doing so." Giles studied the two blonds carefully. "Did she say why exactly?"

"She very cryptically said that we needed to see the truth and to fix the factors." Spike leaned back in his chair while he went over the conversations with Drusilla in his head. "Which brings us to the next day, and the dreams."

"Dreams? What kind of dreams?" Giles asked. He looked back and forth from his clearly embarrassed Slayer to the vampire who was looking at everything in the room but the girl sitting next to him. Somehow, Giles knew that he was going to want to open that other bottle of scotch before this conversation was over.

"Um, uh, bitey dreams," Buffy mumbled. She ducked her head and refused to look at either her Watcher or Spike. Her knuckles became white while she gripped her fingers together in an effort to not touch her neck. Buffy's eyes slid sideways to Spike's face when he covered her hands with one of his own. She spoke again, her voice much louder and more confident this time. "I dreamed that Spike and I were fighting over the Gem again, but this time he bit me. The strange part is that the bite actually appeared on my neck."

"Can I see?" Giles asked. He watched as Buffy blushed even brighter while she pulled her sweater away from her neck. The marks looked fresh to the Watcher. When he reached out tentatively to touch them, Spike suddenly growled loudly. Giles' eyes darted to the blond vampire before he pulled his hand back. "Those look fresh, Buffy."

"Yeah, I, um, had another dream about fighting Spike earlier today. He bit me again in the dream. It's kinda wiggy waking up with bleeding bite marks," Buffy babbled as she pulled her collar up to cover her neck. There was no way she was going to tell either Giles or Spike what really happened in her second dream.

"Sorry 'bout that, Rupes," Spike apologized hint of embarrassment. "Not sure what came over me. Just didn't want you touchin' them."

"Good thing you weren't here when I dusted Angel then," Buffy said softly. "He tried to bite over them."

"You didn't tell me that, luv," Spike growled. "You're keeping secrets again." He stared with flashing eyes at the petite blond girl. "I might dust him again just for tryin' to touch what's mine." In his anger he didn't notice his slip of the tongue.

"Yours, Spike?" Giles asked. He had caught Spike's Freudian slip, and he had to wonder if there was something about the dreams that his charge and Spike weren't telling him.

"Wha'?"

"You said that Buffy's yours," Giles answered.

Spike looked back and forth between the Watcher and the Slayer, his eyes wide with panic. "Well, s-she is. My friend, I mean."

Good Lord, Giles mused. Is Spike ... blushing? And stammering?

"Yeah, Buffy's my friend, not the Poof's. Never his. We've already established that the Slayer and tall, dark and forehead will never be friends." He repeated his words with an almost childish pout. "My friend, not his."

Giles studied the blond vampire very carefully. He noticed that Spike had reached up to touch his neck several times during his little speech. Giles smirked to himself. Methinks the vamp doth protest too much. And what bloody hell am I thinking? It's Spike.

"You're my friend, too." Buffy smiled at Spike. "Why don't you tell Giles about your dream?"

Spike told Giles about his dream, and then he showed off his Buffy-shaped bite marks. Buffy told of the information she had gathered from their visits with Jonathan at the magic shop, and that somehow she was able to feel Spike's emotions now. The vampire nodded in agreement when asked if he felt Buffy's, and he added that some situations made the bite marks tingle while others did not.

"So you've both staked Angel?" Giles asked. "Buffy, you did it because he attacked you, and Spike, you did it simply because it was fun?" He chuckled when both blonds nodded. "What things have caused the tingling sensations?"

"So far, the disks that Adam has Spike steal, saving Forrest from Adam, and Jonathon and his friends," Buffy informed the Watcher. "We're pretty sure that breaking up the Scoobies is something that's supposed to be changed, too. Oh, and we found out how Angel's keeping an eye on me ... us."

"Yeah, the pillock is paying the snitch to snitch," Spike grumbled. "Weekly reports and all that rot." Where before he would have gloated at finding out the great, brooding poofter was spying on the Slayer and her snot nosed little friends, now just the thought of it made him irate. Especially since finding out the exact details of why Buffy dusted him.

Spike was a little miffed at her for leaving out the bite attempt, but in some ways he understood it, too. He suspected that she was still a little embarrassed over the dream bites. This lead him to wonder what exactly had she dreamed about earlier that afternoon. His inner ponderings were interrupted by Giles, though.

"Angel's still stalking you, Buffy?" Giles didn't like the sound of that. It reminded him too much of Thanksgiving where Angel hid his presence from the slayer.

"Doubt he ever stopped, Watcher," Spike suggested. "He thinks of Buffy as his exclusive property. The reason the dream bite brasses him off so much is because it negates any claim he has over the Slayer. Technically speakin', I'm the head of the Aurelius clan, since he's cursed and Dru's insane."

"Angel claimed Buffy?" Giles' growl matched Spike's in ferocity. It was almost good enough for him to be mistaken for a vampire himself.

"Well, once again- technically speakin'- no. He didn't say the words out loud, but 'm sure he thought them." Spike grimaced at the look of intense rage that crossed the Watcher's face. He watched as Giles paced back and forth trying to work out his anger.

"Thank you, Spike," Buffy said softly.

"Thanks for what, Slayer?" Spike glanced away from the Watcher to look at Buffy.

"For being so dreamy and biting me," Buffy whispered.

Spike sat up straight in his chair and exclaimed, "Angelus is here." The statement was immediately followed by loud pounding on the front door of the apartment.

Giles tightened his lips in anger. He wanted to have some words with the dark haired vampire and now was the perfect time for them. He glanced over at Buffy and the other vampire. He wasn't at all surprised that they were sitting closer together now, presenting a unified front. Spike had his arm across the back of Buffy's chair with his fingers lightly grazing the top of her shoulder.

Giles stomped to the door and flung it open. "What do you want, Angel?"

Angel blinked at the anger directed his way. "I'm just looking for Buffy. I wanted to speak with her." He looked over Giles' shoulder to see Buffy sitting next to Spike. When he saw the blond vampire's finger touching Buffy's shoulder, he figured that was what had the Watcher so angry. "Spike, take your dirty hands off of Buffy. Giles, let me in so I can take care of him."

"Gee, Angel, do you have so little confidence in my abilities as the slayer that you think I can't handle Spike?" Buffy asked. She glanced sideways at Spike with a smirk on her face.

"Giles, what is going on here?" Angel advanced on the Watcher. His eyes flashed with gold specks in his anger. "Why the heck is Spike sitting in your apartment like he belongs here?"

"Leave the Watcher alone, Peaches," Spike drawled lazily. "Things are different in Sunnydale these days."

"We know about you paying Willy to spy on all of us, Angel," Buffy announced. "You want out of my life? That's fine, but that doesn't give you the right to spy on me. You want me to stay out of your town? Well, fine, you stay out of ours." She glanced at Spike when her marks tingled.

Angel brushed past Giles into the apartment and advanced on the blond pair still sitting calmly at the table. When Buffy twisted her head to whisper something to Spike, Angel noticed the fang marks on Buffy's neck. Very familiar fang marks. He growled and he shifted into his demonic visage. "You dare touch what's mine, William?" he thundered. "Little upstarts like you need to be taken down a notch or two."

"She's not yours, Peaches. She never has been. Slayer's not a possession."

Snarling, Angel launched himself across the room at Spike. He felt the arrow enter his back to pierce his heart, but he had no time to express his surprise as he felt his cells turn to dust. For some reason, it felt vaguely familiar, like he had dusted several times already.

Spike and Buffy stared across the room at Giles who stood by the door with an empty crossbow in his hands. Giles blinked a few times before he said, "Well, at least he won't remember this tomorrow."

"Too bad you won't either, Watcher. We could have a drink and plan the next dustin' together." Spike chuckled.

"There is a memory restoration spell I could try," Giles muttered. "I definitely want to remember this. The pillock!" He threw the crossbow down before he walked over to the bookcase and ran his finger along the spines until he found the book he wanted. He pulled it out of its place and sat down on the table, flipping eagerly through the pages until he found the one he wanted.

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

"I hope that spell works, because I have to say, retelling the story over and over is a pain in the butt," Buffy sighed heavily. She stopped in front of the bus station doorway. "Well, here's my stop." She smiled at his incredulous look. "I've decided that if this is where I'm waking up, it's where I'm going to sleep."

"Can't be too comfortable." Spike peered through the glass door into the station. He grimaced at the sight of the benches. "We'll check in with the Watcher in the mornin'. You sure you want to go to bed here, luv?"

"Yep, I'll see ya in the morning, Spike." Buffy opened the door of the station and slipped inside. She waved at him through the glass before she walked over to the bench and plopped down on it with a thoroughly dejected air.

Spike felt himself torn between staying to keep her company and avoiding the feeling of weirdness he had experienced just that morning when he found himself back in his own bed. Finally, he decided to put his own comfort aside and sauntered in to join the Slayer on the hard bench. Spike felt his heart clench and his denial go into overdrive when she laid her head on his shoulder and promptly fell asleep.

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

Buffy awoke slowly, inhaling deeply. Her eyes popped open when she didn't smell the expected eau de bus terminal. Looking wildly around her, she found herself laying on a soft bed with Spike's face just a few inches away from hers. She couldn't believe how sweet and innocent the evil vampire looked when he was sleeping. Buffy felt safe in his arms, and that surprised her. Very gently, she shook the vampire's shoulder.

"Wha?" Spike sat up suddenly. He clutched the sheet to his naked body and turned to stare at the giggling Slayer lying beside him in his bed.

"Something's changed, Spike," Buffy announced gleefully. "I woke up here instead of the bus station. And look..." She pointed at the bedside table. "The mug I bought you yesterday is here, too, and... oh!" Her voice rose to a strained squeak. "Are you naked under there?"





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