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Disclaimer: Joss is the evil mastermind of Buffy and its characters so they don't belong to me.

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A few weeks had passed by, and Spike was still living in Buffy's basement. Quite funny actually, because Xander had offered Spike a room in his apartment a week earlier. The ball was now in Spike's court. He found it was a tough choice but he knew if he stayed there at Buffy's, it might drive a wedge into whatever relationship there was building back up between the two of them. He really wanted to keep things the way they were at the moment. It was going fairly well, a friendship that could very well turn into something more. He felt though living in her house put a strain on that slowly blooming relationship. Yet the thought of living with Xander made his blood run even colder. He could put up with him for a little bit, but having to live under the same roof as the whelp may even be the death of him, again. Even with the soul, he was trying his best to put up with the boy. He would definitely give it more thought.

By now they all knew that whatever was brewing in and around the hellmouth would be upon them soon. Buffy continued to have her dreams, as well as Willow's starting back up. Something was coming, they just didn't know what or when. Anya had heard about it through her vengeance pals, before she revoked her vengeance ways. She was still a demon, but more on the side of good. She called herself a 'reconciliation demon', helping the lovelorn and the broken hearted. She had even started helping Buffy and the gang even more, which placed her back on Buffy's good people list. Anya was strong and very much needed; she was the one that informed Buffy about a new demon in town, one who was up to no good. Apparently there was a bounty out on the slayer's head. Head as in literally her head, detached from her body.

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They had all voted and decided they would start patrolling in groups. Giles had continuously informed everybody throughout the day about the uneasy feelings sitting with him. Too much evil was lurking around and in between to do the patrols all alone. This particular night was no exception and they all went along. Good thing because they ran into the group of demons who were incidentally working for the new big bad. The scooby gang spread out per Buffy's orders, but Spike felt he needed to stay as close as possible to the slayer. Giles' uneasiness was spilling over to him now.

It was an all out war, between good and bad and the gang was taking their beatings but none of them too seriously. Of course by the time they had offed about two thirds of the grimy, smelly beasts, they seemed to be slowing down tremendously with the slaying.

Spike hadn't noticed that Buffy had moved farther away from him and since she was out in the open she was a sitting duck. Spike finished off the demon he was fighting by easily slicing off its head and then it happened. He bent over in pain even though nothing had hit him. He quickly looked down at his belly when another pain shot through his head causing a short moment of blindness. Something else went off and right away he acknowledged it; Buffy was in serious trouble and he had sensed it. Of course he didn’t know how but he would be sure to find out about that later. Right now he had to go and protect his girl.

Swiftly, like the predator he was, he was flying through the air and crouching over her prone body, vampire features in full view, a menacing snarl rumbling from deep. The others, who had already championed over their adversaries, stood and watched the scene with awe. They dare not get too close; they all knew Spike was the best candidate to rid them of the three remaining demons.

Giles was amazed when the demons looked at one another, looking a bit intimidated. Was Spike speaking to them? Strange sounds were coming from deep within him, Giles was positive it wasn't normal vampire sounds. He was even more amazed when the trio turned and ran. The Scoobs walked over to the couple as Spike seemed to be checking her over for injuries. When they were within his parameter, he turned on them. Quickly his demon visage melted away and the growls halted. He physically started shaking all over, falling onto his knees next to her and cradling her head in his arms as he began to stroke her hair in such a tender manner.

"Spike," Giles spoke softly. Spike looked up at him. "Spike, may I look her over, please?"

"Sure," his voice was even shaky. "But she's alright. Got the wind knocked out of her right before she took the blow to her head."

Giles kneeled and checked for bumps, bruises and gashes. Spike was correct.

"Giles," Spike whispered, "I felt something when Buffy was knocked about. Felt the pain in my gut, then in my head and I wasn't fighting anything at the time. Then something happened. Don't know how to explain, but I knew that Buffy was in serious trouble. Am I out of my tree again?"

"I must be honest; I'm not sure why you experienced Buffy's pain not to mention why you knew she was in danger. I'll have to…"

"I know," Spike mumbled, "Research it."

"Why, yes, I'm sorry. There are just some things that are still an anomaly to me."

"Yeah, me too, and I've been around for over 120 years." They both shared a small chuckle.

Buffy moaned and started to move around slightly. Giles had let Spike continue to hold her close to him while he inspected her and he remained cradling her head gently. Buffy's eyes slowly opened and tried to focus on the two faces hovering over her. A grin spread over her face as she realized she still had her head. "Hi."

Spike chuckled. "Hey, luv. Welcome back to the land of the living and the not so living. How's the melon?"

She sat up. "Fine, I think. A bit of a headache but that's good, right? Means I have all parts of my body still attached. That pesky headstone got in the way of my falling down."

"Yes, all parts, still attached." Spike mumbled as he and Giles helped her to stand.

She looked over the others. "Did we win?"

Xander got excited right away. "Yeah, Buffster, we beat 'em good."

"Good. Can we go home?"

Buffy leaned into Spike while he wrapped his arm tightly around her waist.

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Once they were all back at the house, Spike took off again without anyone realizing he had departed. Buffy was well looked after, she didn't need an extra body bumbling around her. She healed quickly and would be back to herself in no time. Besides, he was a man, or a vampire on a mission. He knew he wouldn't be gone for very long.

Giles instantly went into research mode once Buffy was deposited onto the couch and the girls messed about her.

"I'm fine, really, girls. Please, just sit down before I pass out again. It will soon pass. So tell me what went down. I remember fighting three of those ugly buggers…oh, god, I'm talking like Spike now. What happened after I hit the, may I just say, very solid and very hard headstone? Owie. " Buffy rubbed the tender area on her head.

Willow and Dawn sat down across from Buffy and went into detail about Spike, the brave protector, embellishing on every fact. Xander sat close by, shaking his head and grumbling as the girls made Spike into a superhero. Anya was playing along with them. He noticed Buffy's face become flustered. Why was that? Was she embarrassed or…No he really didn't want to think those thoughts about Buffy and Sp…Xander couldn't even say the two names in the same sentence together. He was going to offer Spike to move into his apartment again and do it very soon.

About an hour later, Buffy was back to herself. She had disappeared upstairs for a bit and had come back down carrying a large department store bag, sitting it on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. The girls had gathered some snacks and had decided to watch a movie for relaxation. Halfway through it, Buffy sat up quickly on the edge of the couch, scanning the room.

"What's up, Buff?" Dawn noticed the tension in her back.

"Has anyone seen Spike? He's been gone for, like forever. Did he say anything about going to sleep?"

Dawn shook her head. "No, but I'll go check."

She made her way to the basement, but he wasn't there. When she stepped back into the kitchen, he was coming in the back door.

"Hey, where ya been?"

Before he answered, Buffy ran into the kitchen, a panicked look on her face. She almost collided with Spike and he noticed tears forming in her wild eyes.

Spike grabbed onto her forearms. "Whoa, slayer, Buffy. Love, what's wrong?"

"Ahh, Spike. I didn't hear…I mean I didn't see…Where were you? I was worr…I mean…" And the floodgates opened up as she stood in front of him shaking uncontrollably.

"Buffy?" he was exasperated. "Buffy, tell me what's wrong."

Dawn had walked over to comfort her not knowing what was going on either.

"I don't know really. I had this feeling, a heavy, dark feeling. It had something to do with you. I was…worried…you were gone…that something may have happened…Where did you go?"

"Just to Willy's, luv, that's it. Nothing or nowhere else. Had some personal business to take care of. Didn't want you to have to come along. Just to let you know, your bounty hunter has been taken care of. No worries, luv. None at all."

"OK. Umm, I've got something to give to you. For helping tonight and taking good care of me and the others, for protecting me." The tears she previously shed were now drying on her face.

"You know you don't have to give me things. Just knowing you and the bit are safe and sound is enough for me."

"You're getting to be such a softie." Buffy smiled and punched him gently on the arm. He winced and grabbed the spot she hit, eyebrows creasing.

"I know. Bugger it all."

The three wandered into the living room where the other four were still sitting. Buffy grabbed the store bag and brought it to him. In front of all watching eyes, she handed it to him. He didn't know what to do, he felt a little embarrassed.

"Go on," Buffy prodded.

Spike opened up the bag and pulled out a very old and worn black duster.

"You kept this old thing? I thought for sure you would have tossed it”. He looked it over with disfavor and sighed. “Would you like it? It once belonged to a slayer, I think it only fitting you take it."

"No, it's yours. You keep it."

"Thanks, Buffy. Honestly, luv, don't think anything of this but…it's not me anymore, it’s not who I am. Don't feel right wearing it seeing how I came about it."

"Then you do whatever you want with it." She actually understood what he was trying to say as she watched him walk over to the weapons chest, pull out a good size knife and shred the duster into strips. When he was finished, he let out a long sigh. Buffy met his gaze and gave him a reassuring look before walking away.

Giles had been oblivious to the whole scene. He stood up quickly, a look of excitement spread across his features as he yelled out, "Aha!"

Buffy looked at him rather puzzled. "Giles?"

"I think I have found something. Something extraordinary. Something about vampires and slayers. Something about the two of you."

TBC





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