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She had never seen rain like this, not in Sunnydale. It was never-ending, pounding down on the house and the street, creating deep puddles in the road. Lightning lit up the dark sky and a moment later, thunder roared, vibrating through the sky. And it was only five in the afternoon. It showed no signs of stopping any time soon and with a sigh, Buffy turned away from the window and back to the group gathered in her living room.

“Is there such a thing as demon rain?” she asked with a wry smile.

“In good old Sunnydale, anything’s possible,” Xander commented.

She pouted and sank her chin on her hand, watching the ongoing game of Monopoly. Anya was enjoying the game more than any of the others – but that was probably because she was winning. She had a tidy pile of notes, ordered sequentially, which she kept one hand close to at all times. Buffy smiled slightly and her gaze drifted over the two witches and to her sister.

Dawn was glowing with all the attention and she felt a pang of guilt, knowing she hadn’t exactly been spending that much time with her sister since her return from Heaven. And that’s how this whole thing had come about: she had organised a day of fun with her friends and Dawn but the rain had forced them inside and it didn’t look like they were going anywhere soon. She sighed and her eyes drifted to the window again, following the snaking patterns of water on the glass.



Suddenly, she heard a crash in the kitchen and she sat up quickly, all senses alert. She threw a reassuring look at her friends and rose to her feet, making her way swiftly but silently through to the kitchen. With her back to the wall, she peeked into the kitchen – and relaxed as she recognised the soaked figure standing by the door. Spike.

She took a step into the room and crossed her arms, waiting for him to stop fussing over his wet clothes and hair and notice her. He did a moment later and spun round to face her, giving her a soft, shy smile.

“Buffy.”

“Wet out?” she asked with a teasing smile and he raised an eyebrow in surprise – probably at her friendliness. It was still something new for them, but something she was quickly growing used to.

“Just a bit,” he murmured, glancing down at his wet clothes.

Her eyes followed his and she felt the start of a blush creeping up her cheeks as she took in the way the water moulded his already tight T-shirt to his chest, accentuating every muscle.

“How’s the Li’l Bit?”

She snapped her head up and was sure she saw something in his eyes but it quickly passed and she smiled.

“Good. This was a plan of much success.”

“What can I say?” he said smugly, “Brains and beauty.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled softly. He smiled back but then his expression turned serious.

“And you? How are you?”

She paused for a moment, considering the answer, before she smiled wryly.

“Bordering on chipper. Yeah, I’m… I’m okay.”

“That’s good to hear,” he murmured quietly with a tiny smile and she nodded.



“Buffy, what is- Oh, hi, Spike!”

They both turned as her sister came into the room, greeting the vampire enthusiastically, her smile bigger than it had been in a long time.

“Alright, Bit. You been behaving?” he asked with a grin.

“Yes,” Dawn replied pointedly.

He smiled wider and Buffy found herself smiling too.

“Good.”

“Or what? You’ll growl at me?” Dawn got out and Buffy laughed, taking her sister’s arm.

“Okay, you. Enough insulting the vampire,” she said, smiling widely as Spike narrowed his eyes at them, “What do you want to eat?”

“Err, Buffy?!” Xander called from the living room, “You might want to come see this.”

She looked between her two companions worriedly and then rushed into the living room with them both on her heels. The whole group was gathered at the window, looking out into the already dark sky.

“What is it?” she asked, hurrying to the window and looking out.



She gasped when she caught sight of the water rising second by second and engulfing her lawn. Dawn joined her and gasped too.

“Oh my God! The whole street’s flooded.”

“I was just looking out five minutes ago. How did it rise so quickly?” Buffy got out.

“Drains must be blocked,” Spike commented from close behind her, “Or can’t deal with all the rain. Californian building for you.”

She couldn’t take her eyes off the water that covered the whole street, stretching from the middle of her lawn right to the other side and lending an eerie floating-like quality to the houses either side.

“It’s just as bad out the back,” Willow exclaimed and Buffy turned to see her and Tara just returning from the kitchen.

“This has to be demon rain,” Buffy said certainly.

“Demon rain?” Spike echoed, laughing.

“It could be!” she protested and he just laughed again.

“There’s no such thing as demon rain. This is one hundred percent natural.”

She turned back to the window and looked out upon the river that Revello Drive had become. It really didn’t look like they were going anywhere soon.



And sure enough, the rain never ceased – although the water did, only inches from spilling over the porch and into the house. When night fell, it became clear that they were trapped in the house until the water subsided, whenever that might be. She was just glad she had gone grocery shopping the day before. Although, with several extra mouths to feed, it wasn’t going to be long before their supplies ran out. She just hoped the water went down before then.

She started to make arrangements for the evening, assigning sleeping materials and spaces to all those gathered. After surrendering her bed to Xander and Anya that left her, Dawn and Spike sleeping downstairs because Dawn had stupidly left her window open and her room – and most importantly her bed – was soaked. Dawn loved the idea and was soon curled up on the couch – after several arguments between the sisters – and smiling down at them.

“Comfortable?” she asked with a wide smile and Buffy glared at her sister from her position on the floor. She refused to answer and wriggled as she tried to make herself more comfortable on the hard floor in the thin sleeping bag. She glanced to her right and found Spike looking more than comfortable in his own sleeping bag, head resting on his coat, eyes closed lazily. She frowned at him and lay back on the lumpy cushion Dawn had deigned to give her. This was going to be a long night. Just before she went to sleep, she sent out a silent prayer that the water would be gone by the morning and she would be back in her own bed.





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