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That night, Spike carried Dawn into the house. Buffy and Dawn had argued with the doctor for close to half an hour before the doctor let them leave. Buffy limped to the kitchen after telling them she was calling her friends to let them know she was okay and that Dawn and her needed one night alone. Spike looked at Buffy closely. He didn’t want Harris or the Watcher giving her a hard time about him staying here, but he took Dawn upstairs, despite her protests that she could walk.

“Spike,” she whimpered, when he laid her in bed. “I don’t want to be left alone. He might come back.”

Spike toed off his boots and draped his coat over Dawn. “He won’t hurt you, I swear. Buffy said Red did the de-invite spell. He can’t get in.” he said softly. “But I’ll stay with you.”

Dawn smiled when he pulled ‘his’ sleeping bag out of her closet. He had used it all the time over the summer and she had kept it even after Buffy came back. He laid it out on the floor next to her bed and she threw him a pillow. “Goodnight, Spike,” she whispered, her eyes falling closed.

“Goodnight, Platelet,” Spike mumbled lovingly, listening to her heartbeat and Buffy’s as he thought of the million and one things he was going to do Angel, soul or no soul.

Buffy managed to convince her friends to leave her be for at least a day, and she quietly maneuvered her self upstairs. Her inner thighs were still tender but other then that, she was healing physically with few other problems. She stopped at Dawn’s room and peeked in the open door. She smiled when she saw them asleep in her room. She carefully made her way over and kissed Dawn’s forehead, then looked down at Spike on the floor. She knew he wasn’t asleep but she would allow him to keep up his act. She smiled before going to her room to get some sleep.

In the morning, Spike was on his knees with his chin resting on Dawn’s bed, thinking about everything that had happened. Dawn had whimpered a lot in her sleep but there wasn’t much Spike could do but whisper to her and rub one single finger over the back of her hand. He had given up on sleeping and had been in the same position for the past several hours.

When she finally woke up, she mumbled his name.

“Morning, Nibblet,” he said, smiling a little bit. “Feeling better?”

“A little. I want to take a shower today, though,” she said, carefully pushing herself up and out of bed.

Spike steadied her and made sure she could walk on her own. “I’m gunna check on Buffy, you okay?” Spike asked, not caring about touching her at the moment.

She looked at his hand on her elbow for a long moment but she didn’t flinch, causing Spike to smile to himself. “I’m fine,” she said, looking at him before going to the shower.

Spike knocked on Buffy’s door. “Pet?”

“Hmmm?” Buffy mumbled as she swam back from unconsciousness.

Spike walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Fine,” she said, managing a small smile as she sat up. “How’s Dawn?”

“Stronger. She went to take a shower,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Buffy said. “I promise. A shower sounds like a good idea.” She looked at him for a long time with a look that Spike couldn’t read, making him worry slightly. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Spike asked softly.

“Pretty much everything. You make me happy,” Buffy said, running her hands over his face. “And I know you wanted to make sure Angel fit in an ashtray, but it means a lot that you didn’t.”

“Um . . . yeah. About him. What are you going to do?” Spike asked, a growl rumbling deep in his chest. “You can’t just excuse what he did to you and to Dawn. It was wrong and he is not going to get away with this.”

“I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t think I could face him,” she whispered, leaning against his side. “I know it wasn’t him but Angelus is still a part of him. I do want answers, though. Who performed that spell and what caused it to get out of control? Then I think I’m going to beat the crap out of him to make myself feel better.”

“I can kick his ass first,” Spike said, stroking her hair. “Soften him up. Then you can have your go.”

Buffy couldn’t help but laugh but she sobered quickly. “It just scares me,” she whispered. “He raped me and he raped Dawn. I can deal. It’s what I do. Deal with pain.. Between being ripped out of heaven and now this? Should be one big party around here with the dealing of stuff. But what about Dawn? She isn’t going to let it go or deal with it like I’m going to”

“I have to sit here and watch you and Dawn suffer and I can’t do anything about it. Dealing with rape isn’t part of your job description. Neither of you should have ever gone through that,” Spike said with frustration, leaning his head against hers gently. “But I’m sure that she’ll be okay. She’s tough. You know she is. She’s going to be upset and scared for a while, but I’ll be here. We just can’t push her to be okay. She’s going to be unpredictable, especially when it comes to Peaches. And if she needs it, we’ll get her a counselor.”

“You are doing something about it. Being here,” Buffy said gently. “That’s all we need right now.”

“But Dawn comes first. You know that, right?” Spike asked, hopefully. He had been so focused on Buffy these past few months that he hadn’t taken care of Dawn. He wasn’t going to break another promise to either of his girls. Never again.

“Spike, I like having you around and I like that you take care of Dawn. And I want you around,” she whispered. “I want us to go back to the way we used to be. As friends.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Spike agreed, a smile touching the corners of his mouth.

Buffy picked her head up to look at him. “You are a part of my life and a part of Dawn’s. Can you stay with us? I mean, I don’t really feel like being alone and I don’t think Dawn wants to, either. I wouldn’t know what to do if she woke up from a nightmare or something. I wouldn’t know what to do if she had one. Mom always used to take care of that stuff and then you did when I was gone and last night.”

Spike raised an eyebrow at her words. “I can stay,” he said. “You rest for now. I’m going to go and call your friends. Let them know you’re okay, but I won’t leave if you need me.”

Buffy nodded and smiled a bit when he pulled the covers back over. “Thank you, Spike,” she whispered, her eyes falling closed. Spike had been her closest friend when she came back from heaven and she had come so close to ruining that. She hoped she would be able to fix it and try to repair their friendship. If they happened to share something more, then so be it. But she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Spike smiled and kissed her forehead. “You’re welcome, Pet,” he said gently as he went toward the door. “I love you.”

Buffy smiled in her sleep at his words as he went downstairs to make his phone calls. Things were bad right now, but he promised himself he would make things right. Even if he had to kill the poofter himself. Angel was going to pay for what he did, whether or not Buffy changed her mind and fell for Angel’s pity act.





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