“Spiiiiike, my glass is empty,” Buffy called out, ringing a small bell. She mentally counted down the seconds, grinning when Spike appeared before she could get to five.
Spike stood in the middle of his living room with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked back and forth between Buffy lying on the couch and Dawn sprawled over a recliner. “She’s not doing anything, why didn’t you ask her?” he asked, pointing at the younger girl.
“Hey, you’re the one with the guilty conscience, not me,” Dawn responded without looking away from the TV. She held out an empty tumbler. “And if you’re going to get her a drink, can you get me one, too?”
Grumbling under his breath, Spike took both glasses and stomped into the kitchen. He filled them and returned to the living room, where Dawn accepted her cup with a smile before turning her attention back to her show. Buffy straightened and patted the empty space on the couch. Never one to refuse an invitation, Spike took the seat, stealing a brief, passionate kiss.
“How are you feeling?” he murmured, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. It had been three weeks since the final showdown with Forrest and four days since Buffy’s release from the hospital. She had been allowed to leave for several hours the day of the memorial service for her parents and baby sister. He’d taken care of Dawn: made sure she got to school on time, helped her make up all the assignments she’d missed while in England, and listened to her talk about good times spent with her family.
“Much as I like having you as my willing slave, I’m ready to get off this couch. Jack said I could go back to work next week,” Buffy answered, excited about the prospect of getting back to work. The weeks of inactivity had been wearing on her. She’d even take desk duty if it meant getting out of the house for a while.
Spike frowned and leaned back against the cushions. “Jack said that maybe you could go back. It all depends on what Dr. Shamus says after your session on Tuesday,” he reminded, knowing how much Buffy detested her sessions with the Bureau psychiatrist.
“If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll say that I’m clear for duty.” Though she knew that Bureau policy required her to meet with the psychiatrist, she felt it was a waste of time. She wasn’t telling him anything she’d already told Spike and, in her opinion, Spike was a much better listener.
Just as Spike got comfortable with Buffy leaning up against him, the doorbell rang. Seeing that Dawn was too engrossed in her Gilmore Girls to get up, he reluctantly disentangled himself from Buffy’s embrace and answered the door. Xander, Anya, Tara, and Willow were crowded on the porch, each holding a box. Spike quickly stepped aside to allow them entry to the house.
Xander set down his box and made a show of stretching his back. “This is the last of them. We hauled the stuff you didn’t want to the Salvation Army.” For the past week Spike and the others had been cleaning out Buffy and Dawn’s old house. Dawn had bravely gone into the house with Spike and tagged everything she wanted to keep then did the same for Buffy’s belongings.
“We kept a few things, too, if you don’t mind. There was an ancient Sumerian fertility statue in your mom’s collection that I couldn’t resist,” Willow added, hoping that Buffy wouldn’t be offended. She relaxed slightly when the other woman just shook her head. “How are you?”
“Her old demanding, bitchy self,” Dawn answered, switching off the television and standing up. She loved talking with Buffy’s co-workers. Tara and Willow had been especially friendly after she returned from overseas. The two women had taken her out to see movies and done their best to help her adjust to life without her parents. “She’s got Spike running around waiting on her hand and foot,” she added mischievously.
Spike rolled his eyes and pulled the teen in for a quick hug. “We’ve been over this, Bit. Your sister’s still… delicate.”
Dawn snorted in disbelief. It was amusing to see this new Buffy-whipped Spike. “Delicate is not a word I’d use to describe my sister. Did you know sometimes she rings the bell just to see how long it’ll take you to respond?”
Spike turned around to face his ex-partner. “Is that so, pet?” he asked, eyebrow raised.
Buffy quickly shook her head, the corners of her mouth twitching as she fought to keep the smile off her face. “No, I only call you when I need something,” she lied, glaring daggers at her smirking sister.
Spike glanced beseechingly at the others as if to say “See what I have to put up with?” Living with the Summers sisters was often very trying, but he wouldn’t give it up for the world. There had been no question that the sisters would move in with him after the ordeal and truth be told, he enjoyed having his empty house full of energy and laughter.
Xander clapped him on the shoulder and grinned sympathetically. “Would it help if you brought me a beer?” he suggested.
Spike nodded enthusiastically and led the agent into the kitchen. The two men sat around the table nursing their beers while the women chatted animatedly in the living room. Instead of going their separate ways once the investigation was closed, the agents had grown closer. Although everyone but Dawn and Buffy had moved out of the house, not a day went by when at least one person wasn’t stopping by to chat or check in. At one time Spike would have found the intrusions irritating and bothersome, but now he found them somewhat comforting.
He looked up when a shadow fell across the table. Angel shuffled into the room and collapsed in a chair next to Spike. Xander leaned back to reach into the refrigerator for another beer. He’d met the reclusive CIA operative when he’d dropped Dawn off at the hospital.
“Buffy’s in with the rest of the birds,” Spike gestured towards the front of the house, eyeing the other man suspiciously. Though he was grateful Angel had watched over Dawn, he wasn’t harboring any warm fuzzy feelings for the other man.
Angel took a long swig from the bottle and sighed heavily. “I’m not here to see her, Spike, I’m here to see you.”
Sensing that the two men had something they needed to discuss, Xander quickly excused himself and joined the girls. Once he was gone, Angel finished his beer and looked intently at Spike for a moment.
“I don’t have all bleedin’ day. Say what you came here to say, you ponce,” Spike grumbled. He mentally crossed his fingers and prayed that Angel wasn’t here to collect on his favor.
His heart sank when the next words out of Angel’s mouth were: “You owe me.”
Biting back a scathing retort, Spike forced himself to wait and see just what Angel was going to demand. He just hoped the other man wasn’t going ask for help reuniting with Buffy.
“I don’t like you. Never have agreed with the way you work. You’re too impulsive: you follow your gut and worry about the consequences later. I used to worry about what kind of trouble you’d get Buffy into,” Angel started. “You’d drag her into undercover assignments others wouldn’t touch. You like the risk and the danger, and you’ve somehow convinced yourself that you’re invincible.”
Spike rolled his eyes and quirked one eyebrow. “You don’t have to butter me up, Peaches, just tell me what you want.”
“Be my partner,” Angel stated bluntly, an ironic smile on his lips.
“Bloody hell,” Spike coughed as he choked on a mouthful of beer. He jumped to his feet, grabbed a handful of paper towels, and cleaned up the mess he’d made on the table. Once finished, he opted to lean against the counter rather than sit next to Angel. “I knew you were a nancy.”
Angel’s brow furrowed as he tried to figure out why Spike had reacted so violently. “I really didn’t think you’d object. Figured you’d put up a token resistance but this seemed like it would be right up your alley.”
Spike crossed his arms over his chest and tried to back up even further. “Sod off. And leave my alley out of this.”
“Look, if you’re worrying about Buffy, don’t. I’ve already mentioned it to her and she didn’t seem too opposed to the idea. Sure she’s a little concerned about the risks, but she knows you can take care of yourself,” Angel vainly tried to reason with the defensive blond.
Spike’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened. “You’ve talked to her about this? She didn’t seem opposed? Have you both gone starkers?”
Angel stood up and leaned across the table. “What’s the matter with you? Just accept my offer. You won’t regret it. An opportunity like this only comes around once.”
“An opportunity like this only comes around once. Could you possibly have a bigger ego?” Spike demanded, raising his voice and clenching his fists. “I won’t be your soddin’ partner.” The last word was sneered, his lip curling slightly.
Having heard part of the heated argument between her former fiancé and current love, Buffy stepped into the kitchen and stood between the two men. “Spike, I can’t say that I’m totally thrilled with the idea, but you should at least listen to what he has to say. It’s a decent proposition.” She frowned when Spike reached for the phone and began dialing. “What are you doing?”
“Calling your doctor to see if there was any head trauma he may have missed. If that isn’t the case, I’ll call Dr. Shamus and see if this is some part of PTSD he didn’t tell me about,” Spike responded, waiting for someone on the other end to pick up.
Buffy grabbed the phone away from him and ended the call. “You don’t have to be an ass about this. Angel went out on a limb by asking you,” she chided. “If you keep doing what you’re doing now, you’re just going to get bored. I’d rather you get this over with now so we can settle down later.”
“I promise, pet, I’m not going to get bored and there is nothing I need to get out of my system,” Spike wrapped an arm around Buffy’s waist and pulled her closer.
She pushed him away and smiled gently. “I know you, Spike. You’re not really satisfied being a consultant. You’re wasting your talents. I say go for it. Besides,” she batted her eyelashes, “what’s sexier than a CIA agent?”
“‘Wasting my talents’? ‘Sexy’?” Spike sputtered, doing his best impression of a fish.
Finally understanding why Spike was so upset, Buffy began laughing long and loud. She collapsed against Spike and held her sides. “Oh God, don’t make me laugh, it hurts too much,” she panted. She regained her composure, saying, “Spike, he wants you to be his partner in the Agency. He wants you to work with him.”
If her ribs weren’t already throbbing, she would have laughed at the comical expressions that flitted across Spike’s face as he realized what she was trying to say. She patted him on the cheek and returned to the living room.
Spike hung his head, cheeks barely tinged pink with embarrassment. “You want me to be your partner in the CIA?”
Angel nodded, an amused grin on his face. “Yeah, that’s what I was asking. You trusted me with your life, so I figure it’s safe to trust you with mine.”
“I didn’t trust you with…” Spike broke off when he understood what Angel meant. He’d trusted the other man with something that was even more precious than his own life: Dawn.
“So, what do you say?” Angel inquired.
Spike paused for a moment as he considered the offer. “I’ll do it,” he agreed. Though it meant working with Angel, he was intrigued by the prospect of being a government spy.
Angel nodded in agreement and extended his hand. Spike eyed the hand warily before shaking it. Angel jerked Spike forward then leaned down so he could whisper in his ear. “You’re not my type.” Satisfied that he’d stunned his new partner into silence, Angel swept out of the room.
Spike shook his head in disgust and followed him to where the others were laughing over something Xander was saying. He perched on the arm of the couch next to Buffy and smiled when she slipped her hand into his.
“You should have seen Snyder’s face when Jack announced that Buffy was going to be the new ASAC. He kept walking around muttering under his breath. I heard him say that some people would do anything for a promotion,” Xander finished his story.
Dawn looked up at her sister, her eyes shining with humor. “Hey Buff, next time you get a promotion, can we just throw a party?”
THE END -- for now
Thanks to Vaida for sticking with me through it all and being the wonderful person that she is!
Look for the sequel coming soon.
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