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Author's Chapter Notes:
Fortunately April survived Christmas shopping at the hated mall to proof this final chapter for me. Early christmas kisses for her
"Is that my peasant top?" Buffy asked, lips pinched together in suspicious irritation.

"No." Dawn's denial wasn’t fooling anyone, but she faced off defiantly with her sister even so. "Well, yeah," she pouted when the slayer’s imperious stare finally broke her. "But I have a date at the Bronze tonight with Michael, who is, by the way, utterly droolsome, and I don’t have anything cool to wear." She suddenly seemed to decide that spoilt petulance might not be the best form of coercion and switched seamlessly to shameless pleading. "Please, Buffy. I promise not to ruin it. I just really wanna look nice for my date, and I seriously have nothing else to wear. Please?"

"All right, whatever." She turned away from her grinning sister with a put-upon sigh. "Now come on, we were supposed to be at the Bronze half an hour ago."

The scene that greeted them was heart-warmingly familiar: on the dance floor Willow and Kennedy swayed together to a far slower rhythm than the band were energetically pumping out, while over at their usual table Xander cajoled a pouting Anya, who seemed to be having trouble maintaining whatever sulk she was inflicting on him.

"Buffy!" Her friend seemed relieved at the interruption, and Anya gave a disgruntled huff. "Come sit, please."

"You girls ready to get down with the boogie man?" he asked with that patented cheeky boy grin of his that seemed to clash with his rakish pirate patch.

"Nope." Dawn's smile was wide and excited. "I have a date."

"Michael?" Xander feigned surprise. Michael had been Dawn's number one topic of conversation for the last month.

"Uh huh. Oh God, there he is. Do I look ok?" Her fluster was enchanting, and Buffy smiled indulgently at her as she nodded. It was so good for Dawn to be able to do these normal teenager things, and she wasn’t worried; her sister was surprisingly responsible. And just in case, Xander already had strict instructions to keep an eye open for any hint of teenage hi-jinks.

"You look very nice, Dawn." Anya patted her arm in her innocently condescending way. "I'm sure the boy will be extremely aroused by your barely concealed--"

"Ok." Xander cut her off, throwing apologetic glances at the slightly perturbed looking sisters. "You're a knockout, Dawnster. Go get 'em."

"What about you, Buff," he asked when the teenager had left. "You gonna stay and partake in the consumption of delicious alcoholic beverages?"

"Nope," she answered with a roll of her shoulders. "I have to patrol; things have been quiet lately, but that doesn't mean I get to be slacker slayer." She ignored the knowing looks they exchanged in favour of smiling at Willow, who was giving her the patented Rosenberg finger waggle over Kennedy's shoulder. "Watch Dawn for me, guys, ok?"

………………………………………….

"Spike! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Her hands went to her hips as she glared at him, posture one hundred percent unadulterated annoyance.

"Me? What am I…? I'm saving your life, that’s what I'm doing. Again."

His indignant sputtering caused her to raise an unimpressed eyebrow. "No…" She drew it out, the inference that he was badly deluded ringing loudly in her tone. "You were getting in my way. Again."

"Oh, that's bloody charming, that is." He ran to catch up with her as she headed away from him with a dismissive toss of her hair. "I'm out here in the freezing cold, risking life and limb to save your prissy arse--"

"You don't feel the cold," she broke in impatiently. "Also, not actually alive. Oh, and Spike? My ass really isn't your concern."

She spun and walked ahead of him again, the aforementioned backside swinging exaggeratedly in skin tight PVC. He stopped for a moment to admire the view before jogging after her. "Oh yeah, that's right. Bitchy the Vampire Slayer's bleeding invincible, ain't she? You ever going to admit you need a little help sometimes, slayer?"

She ignored him as she gave the cemetery one final scan, cool professional eyes searching for the telltale evidence of a demon presence. Satisfied they were alone, she cast him an irritated glare that pinched lines of distaste in her forehead. "Do you ever shut up?"

"Why? You thinking of a better use for my mouth?" Ah, and that was Spike, all tired innuendo and suggestive leers.

"You're a pig, Spike," she told him with a sneer of bored disgust.

"Yeah." His proud grin broke her act and she smiled almost indulgently despite the requisite eye roll as she disappeared through the heavy crypt door.

The crypt was warm inside, and she slipped off her jacket and plonked herself down on the sofa in front of the paraffin burner he'd liberated from the local dump. The fumes that she'd complained at first had given her a headache were now so familiar that the heady smell was almost intoxicating.

He settled next to her, thin cotton t-shirt proof of her earlier statement that he was impervious to temperature. He raised an arm and she went happily into his embrace. "Funny," she thought as she snuggled against his chest, "how things can be so different and yet not have changed at all."

"I love you," she whispered against the cotton, and he murmured with pleasure and tightened his arm around her shoulders. She'd said it for the first time just two months after the defeat of the First, and the look on his face when she summoned up enough courage to force the words past her dry lips would be something she'd take with her to the grave, whether she outlived her slayer expiry date or not.

They'd just made love in her bed for only about the third time ever. Dawn and Willow had been over at Xander and Anya's for a movie night, and they'd had the place to themselves. She'd planned the prelude to her declaration meticulously: there would be wine and candles and music playing low and sultry. But as always, he'd upset her best laid plans and ruined everything.

"Slayer," he'd called up to her bedroom where she'd been applying the finishing touches to her makeup. "Get your arse out here now. Evil's afoot."

"Not tonight, Spike." She'd leant out of her window, the low cut dress she'd picked out showing only her bare shoulders over the sill. "Come in. I've got a surprise for you."

"Tempting, pet." He'd sounded distracted and a fission of annoyance had stabbed at her good mood. "But this can't wait. Put something on and get out here. We're going to Willy's."

So there'd been the usual performance: info gleaned from ugly demons over too much whiskey so that by the time they'd been fighting knee deep in the sewers she'd had a little trouble keeping from falling drunkenly on her backside.

"Bloody hell, slayer," he'd complained when she did just that and landed with a splat in a puddle of something she had no interest in identifying.

All the same, they'd finally made it to her bed and the way he'd touched her was far better preparation than all the flower petals and music in the world. He'd been falling asleep, tipsy and content, and she'd had to rush the admission, knowing that if she didn't get it out then she'd probably never say it—and yes, she did know that made her emotionally repressed.

"Spike?"

"Hm-hm." He hadn't opened his eyes, and she'd been relieved at that. A little easier for her to make her declaration without him watching her.

"I love you."

"Hmmm. What?" He had seemed suddenly very much awake and completely sober.

"I said…" She remembered how hard her heart had been hammering, how strong the desire had been to flee. "I love you."

And then he'd smiled and it had been so warm and full of wonder it had seemed like a tiny reminder of heaven. Then he'd swallowed hard and touched her face with shaking finger. "Buffy," His voice had fallen like summer rain on her skin washing away all her lingering doubts. "I love you."

"Slayer." He looked vaguely amused as she dragged herself back to the present. "You looked a million miles away, luv. Everything all right?"

The lazy smile on her face was as contented as her sigh as she shook her head and looked up at him. "Perfect."

He raised an incredulous eyebrow and she chuckled wryly. "Or not. But there's nothing I'd change."

"Me neither, pet." His embrace would have been painful for a normal girl, but she merely melted into it and closed her eyes. "Me neither."


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A/N Specail thanks to April of course for policing my awful grammer and spelling, she's a love she really is.

Also many thanks to everyone who bothered to review, writing this has been in turn wonderful and greuling, reviews keep you going when the story doens't want to play.

I guess I should also apologise for how long this one took to get through, a very poor show on my part I'm afraid.

Love to Nip, Pin, dreamgal, caroline, Cali( who disappeared, where did you go?), lilpuf, chymera, rana who've been there all along and MG, romero, shelly, spacelord and jane who reviewd the last chapter

XXXXXX





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