Chapter 1

“Mom, she’s still on the phone. I need to call Willow,” Buffy Summers complained as she entered the kitchen, where she found her mother making dinner.

“You’ll just have to wait until she’s done,” Joyce Summers replied.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “She’s been on for over an hour. She can’t keep hogging the line; there are other people in this house.”

Joyce stopped what she was doing to look at her daughter. “Buffy, I’m a little busy right now. Why don’t you just ask your sister to let you use the phone?”

Buffy sighed and left the kitchen. “Yeah, that would be like talking to a wall,” she mumbled and walked over to her older sister, who still had the phone attached to her ear. She was talking about the latest fashions and Buffy could care less. It wasn’t like it was anything really important. She was tired of being polite and snatched the phone out of the older girl’s hand. She put it to her ear, ignoring the glare from her sister. “I’m sure this is a matter of life and death, but she’ll have to call you back,” she said into the phone, then hung up.

“God, you are such a brat! I was having a very important conversation.”

Buffy rolled her eyes again at what her sister thought was an important conversation. Sometimes it was hard to believe that they were related. “I’m sure whatever fashions you were talking about will be out of style by next week. I actually need to use the phone for something school related, but you would know nothing about that.”

“Like calling your geek friend is so important,” she retorted.

Buffy was about to comment, but Joyce suddenly came out of the kitchen to stop the fighting.

“Harmony, would you take out the trash?”

She looked repulsed by the idea. “Mom, I do not touch disgusting things.”

Buffy couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face. “What would you call your boyfriend, then?”

Harmony turned a glare on her. “At least I have a boyfriend,” she spat and glanced back at her mother. “I’m gonna have to take a rain check, Mom. I have a date tonight.” She took off up the stairs, without even waiting for a response.

Joyce then looked at Buffy.

She knew what that meant. “I guess I’ll be taking the trash out.”

Joyce gave her a smile. “Thanks, honey,” she replied and went back into the kitchen.

Buffy let out a sigh when her mother was gone. Her life was really unfair sometimes.


* * * * *


Buffy walked outside with the trash and put it down, then noticed that she wasn’t exactly alone. She looked up to see a very attractive man, with bleach blond hair and a leather coat. She smiled at him.

“Hey, Spike. What brings you over here?”

He shrugged. “Just getting some fresh air. How are things going, Buffy?”

She sighed again and thought about what to tell him. “Things are as good as they’re going to be.”

Spike only nodded, not sure what else to say. He moved to Sunnydale from England when he was fourteen. His dad was the librarian at the high school.

They have lived next door to each other for five years now and formed a close friendship, even though he was three years older than her.

Buffy was about to say something else, when a nuisance bounded out of the back door and pushed her out of the way. She glared at her sister, who chose to ignore it.

“Spike, I knew I heard a male voice out here. Did you come by to see me?” Harmony wondered in a sweet voice.

It caused Buffy to cringe at how fake she was.

Spike only gave her a friendly smile. “I was just talking to Buffy.”

The smile quickly fell from her face. “Why do you constantly talk to her? It’s not like she can ever hold an interesting conversation. She’s just a kid.”

Buffy felt like pulling her hair out for that comment. She was sixteen-years-old and still got treated like a kid. Harmony was only two years older than her. “I’ll just go back inside now,” she said and turned away, catching the smirk on Harmony’s face. It was obvious that her older sister had a crush on Spike, even though she had her own boyfriend. Buffy knew that she would never be able to compete with Harmony. She was a Barbie doll basically and all the guys were crazy for her. She figured they only wanted Harmony because she lacked any brain cells and would put out for anyone. She was a senior and one of the most popular girls in school. Buffy actually got good grades and was hardly popular. She was attractive, but it wasn’t enough. She has liked Spike since she was twelve, but he would never notice. He probably only saw her as a kid just like everyone else.

She broke out of her thoughts; a determined look forming on her face. Buffy walked up the stairs and knocked on her other sister’s door. She didn’t wait for a reply and just let herself into the room. “Did you do it, Dawn?” she asked the younger girl.

Dawn smiled. “It was a piece of cake. You need to give me a challenge next time.”

Buffy smiled as well. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

They then heard the sounds of footsteps coming up the stairs and Harmony was soon standing in the doorway.

“What are you two losers talking about?” she wondered with raised eyebrows.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Nothing that your little brain would be able to comprehend.”

Dawn was trying not to laugh.

Harmony just looked annoyed. “Whatever, I’m taking a shower.” She turned and headed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Buffy graced Dawn with another smile. “Phase one is complete.”

Dawn returned her older sister’s smile. “This should be fun.”

Chapter 2

“Oh my god! Mom!” Harmony screeched as she ran down the stairs.

Joyce came out of the kitchen to see what was wrong, while Buffy and Dawn followed after Harmony.

She gasped when she saw her eldest daughter.

“Look what those freaks did to my hair!” Harmony yelled, pointing to her now green hair.

Buffy and Dawn gave each other a high five and tried not to laugh.

Joyce looked at Harmony and then at her two younger daughters. “Girls, did you have something to do with this?”

They both shrugged.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dawn replied innocently.

Harmony turned cold eyes on them. “This is so your fault! You snuck into the bathroom and messed with my shampoo! Ryan is going to be here soon, I can’t let him see me like this!”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “What’s the big deal? If you ask me, I think this is an improvement. Don’t you think so, Buffy?”

She nodded. “I hear green is in.”

Harmony started to cry and whine about how much she hated her sisters.

Joyce patted her eldest on the back and tried to comfort her. “I’m sure it’ll wash out, honey. It’s not the end of the world.”

Harmony turned teary eyes on her mother. “It might as well be. I have to cancel my date now.” She ran back up the stairs, crying along the way.

Joyce gave her daughters a stern look.

Buffy knew they were in trouble. “It was just a little joke for all the crap she’s put us through. It should come out tomorrow.”

Joyce crossed her arms over her chest. “I want you both to go to your rooms and think about what you did. I’ll discuss a punishment with you later.”

They nodded and tried to look guilty as Joyce headed back into the kitchen.

Dawn then couldn’t keep the smile off of her face anymore and glanced at Buffy. “Did you see the look on her face?”

Buffy smiled as well. “Yeah, that was great.”

“Upstairs, now!” Joyce yelled from the kitchen, which caused them to jump a little.

“Right, going now,” Buffy said, grabbing Dawn by the arm and pulling her upstairs.


* * * * *


“I would have given anything to see that,” Willow Rosenberg stated in school the next day.

Buffy looked at her best friend and nodded. “Yeah, it was pretty funny. She had it coming.”

They headed to their lockers, when they suddenly noticed Cordelia Chase walk over to them.

The pretty cheerleader graced the girls with a smile. “Hey, I’m having a party this weekend and you’re both welcome to come,” she said, handing them each an invitation.

They were both clearly shocked, but took the invitations from her.

Cordelia was the richest and most popular girl in school. She was also Harmony’s friend.

“Um, do you have us confused with someone else?” Buffy wondered.

Cordelia shook her head. “You’re Harmony’s sister, right?”

Buffy nodded, even though she hated to admit that.

“Then I got the right person. I really hope you guys can make it,” she claimed, then walked away and started to hand out other invitations.

Buffy and Willow watched her go and then stared at each other, both equally confused.

“Okay, did we happen to stumble into some alternate universe?”

Willow shrugged. “I don’t know. It seemed like that really happened. Do you think we should go? Cordelia’s house is huge. My brother cuts her lawn and he told me about it. She always has the best parties there. I’ve always wanted to see what one was like.”

Buffy thought about it and nodded after a moment. “I guess we could stop by. It’ll also piss Harmony off.”

After the confusion wore off, they both made their way to class.


* * * * *


“This is so not happening. I can’t believe Cordy invited you. This has to be a pity invite or something. Whatever, just stay out of my way. I still don’t want some people to know I’m related to you,” Harmony explained when they got home from school.

Buffy let out a yawn. Her sister’s hair was starting to look normal again and Buffy felt a little disappointed, but it was fun while it lasted. They were both having the conversation outside because Harmony has yet to let her in the house. She had to go on about the party and how Buffy was not to talk to her. It wasn’t like she wanted to, anyway. Her face quickly lit up when Spike walked over to them.

Harmony stopped talking long enough to notice him as well. A huge smile formed on her face. “Spike, I’m so glad you’re here. Would you like to come to Cordy’s party this weekend? I know you’re not in high school anymore, but it could be fun. Cordy said she wouldn’t mind,” she remarked, batting her eyelashes.

Spike’s gaze then landed on Buffy. “Will you be going?”

She felt her heart skip a beat at the thought of him wanting her to be there.

Harmony decided to speak up for her. “I have to baby-sit her, so my mom’s making me bring her along.”

Buffy really didn’t like that comment. She noticed that Spike now had a hard look on his face, but it was soon replaced with a smile.

“Right, I guess I’ll see you both there then.”

Harmony returned his smile and ran her hand down his arm. “Yeah, I’ll see you there. Maybe you can save me a dance.”

Spike nodded and after giving Buffy one more look, headed back next door.

Harmony then turned and walked into the house, without saying anything else to Buffy.

She waited for a few seconds before following her sister inside.


* * * * *


Harmony slammed the phone down later that night and stomped into the kitchen, where she found her mother and sister.

“Ryan just broke up with me. I can’t believe the jerk had the nerve to dump me over the phone.”

Buffy rolled her eyes.

Joyce went to comfort her daughter.

Harmony pulled away and didn’t look like she needed comfort. “He was a loser, anyway. I can do so much better. I already have someone else in mind,” she said with a smile, then left the kitchen.

Buffy had a feeling about who that someone was. Could things possibly get any worse?

Chapter 3

Buffy was in her room and staring out the window. She had a nice view of Spike next door washing his car shirtless. She felt bad about watching him, but figured that it wasn’t a big deal if he never found out.

“What are you doing?”

Buffy pulled away from the window at Harmony’s voice. “Nothing,” she said shakily.

Harmony wasn’t convinced. She walked over to the window and noticed what had her sister’s attention. “Are you kidding me? You actually have a thing for Spike? You must be crazy if you think he would ever notice you. That’s really pathetic, Buffy.”

She tried not to let her words hurt. “I wasn’t looking at him.”

Harmony laughed and shook her head. “Sure you weren’t. If I had that view, I would be looking all day. You’re wasting your time. I happen to know that Spike is into me.”

Buffy really dreaded asking her next question, but she was curious. “How do you figure that?”

Harmony rolled her eyes at how dense her sister could be sometimes. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Megan told me. She overheard Spike talking about me. Her brother goes to UC Sunnydale with him. She just happened to be around at the time to listen to one of their conversations. Apparently he’s crazy about me. He wants to ask me out, but he’s not sure how. I decided to make it easier for him. I plan on making my move at Cordy’s party, so you better stay out of my way. You would only get hurt. I mean, it’s obvious that Spike has feelings for me. You can tell by the way he looks at me, and he’s always coming over here. He probably didn’t know how to talk to me before because I was so into Ryan. I knew a good thing would come out of the idiot breaking up with me. I’ll tell people that I dumped him, of course. I need a real man, anyway.” Harmony stopped to look back out the window, only to see Spike stretching now. She licked her lips at the sight of his muscles. “Yeah, Spike definitely qualifies.” She then glanced away to notice the hurt expression on Buffy’s face. “Sorry, little sister. You really didn’t have a chance, anyway,” she finished, then left the room.

Buffy turned back to the window to see that Spike was no longer there. She sighed and looked away. Her sister already gets everything. Why did she have to get the one guy that Buffy liked?


* * * * *


“She is such a bitch.”

Buffy looked up at her sister. “Watch your language, Dawn.”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, you know she is. Harmony thinks she’s so perfect. You’re way hotter than she is.”

Buffy gave Dawn a small smile of gratitude. “At least I can count on you to make me feel better, even if you’re lying.”

Dawn sat down next to Buffy on her bed and could tell that her sister was near tears. She then wrapped her arms around the older girl and tried to give her what little comfort she could. “It’ll be okay, Buffy. Spike wouldn’t really fall for her. He has better sense than that.”

Buffy shook her head and wiped her eyes. “I really wish I could believe that. I guess it was stupid to think that he would ever be interested in me. I actually thought he always came over here to see me, but it was to see her this whole time. God, I feel so stupid,” she said and buried her head in her hands.

Dawn patted her on the back. A grin soon found its way onto her face. “You wanna move on to phase two? Making Harmony’s life miserable should cheer you up.”

Buffy gave a tiny smile when she removed her hands. “As tempting as that is, it’s probably not a good idea. Mom would be even more pissed at us.”

Dawn nodded and continued to rub her sister’s back. “She’ll get what’s coming to her, Buffy. I have a feeling this whole thing is gonna blow up in her face.”

Buffy looked at Dawn in confusion. “What makes you so sure?”

She shrugged. “I’m usually good at that sort of thing. I may only be fifteen, but I’ve been told that I’m very wise beyond my years.”

Buffy managed to laugh a little at her comment. “Yeah, you’re right about that. Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Dawny. I’m glad someone is on my side.”

“I’d have to be crazy to take Harmony’s side. I still think she’s adopted.”

Buffy had to agree. “You’re not alone in that.”

They both then just continued to sit there in silence.


* * * * *


Buffy headed outside after dinner to get away from Harmony. She was on the phone bragging to another one of her ditzy friends about how she planned on seducing Spike. It wasn’t something Buffy really cared to hear. She wrapped her arms around herself and realized that it was colder than she thought. She was about to walk back inside to grab a jacket, when she noticed Spike come over to her.

He gave her a smile and handed her the leather jacket that he was holding. “Saw you out here, figured you could use this.”

Buffy smiled in return and took the jacket from him. She put it on and was surprised by how well it fit her. It was like he bought it for her. She quickly banished that thought and realized it was crazy to think about.

“So, why are you out here on such a cold night?” he wondered.

“It’s colder inside the house,” she replied, referring to Harmony more than the actual cold, but he didn’t need to know that. “I just needed to get out for a bit.”

Spike nodded in understanding and stood next to her on the steps.

They were both silent and just gazed up at the sky, then noticed a shooting star.

Buffy was mesmerized by it. “Cool, I’ve never seen one before.”

“You should make a wish,” he practically whispered in her ear.

Buffy shivered and shook her head. “What would be the point? I never get what I want.”

Spike moved closer to her, if that was even possible. “Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

Buffy felt a little nervous at his close proximity. “Did you make a wish?” she suddenly asked.

Spike smiled. “I don’t need to.” He started to walk away.

“Wait, you forgot your jacket.” She was about to take it off, until Spike spoke again.

“You keep it. It looks better on you, anyway,” he responded, then headed back to his house.

Buffy watched him go and had to smile at what he said. Things were starting to look a little better.

Chapter 4

Harmony and Buffy entered Cordelia’s house the night of her party.

Willow couldn’t go because she suddenly caught a cold and had to stay home.

Buffy realized that she really didn’t want to be there, but decided to make the best of it.

“Okay, there’s Cordy. I’m gonna go talk to her. You are not to speak to me when I’m around my friends, got that?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Believe me, there’s no chance of that happening.”

Harmony nodded and walked away, pretending that her sister didn’t even exist.

Buffy looked around at all of the couples dancing, not really knowing anyone. “What am I doing here?” she said to herself and walked around, trying to stay out of everyone’s way. She looked to see if Spike was there, but wasn’t having the best luck. She saw that Cordelia was now talking to two guys and wondered where Harmony was, but couldn’t seem to care and just decided to go outside for some fresh air. She stopped suddenly when she noticed that Harmony was making out with Spike. Buffy felt tears in her eyes, running back into the house and up the stairs. She found an empty room and closed the door. She leaned her head against it and finally let the tears fall.


* * * * *


“Harmony, what are you doing?” Spike wondered as he pushed her away.

“I’m giving you what you want. I know how you feel about me, Spikey. We can get out of here and go somewhere a little more private,” she said seductively.

Spike shook his head. “I think you have the wrong idea. Is your sister here?”

Harmony looked angry at that question. “Why does that matter? She’s probably inside somewhere causing trouble. Let’s just forget about the brat and get back to what we were doing.” She ran her hands over his chest.

Spike stepped away from her. “I have to go,” he said, running by Harmony and into the house. He had a girl to find.


* * * * *


Buffy was now sitting on the bed, with her face buried in her hands. She didn’t know how she was going to face Harmony now. She only knew that she felt sick with the thought of the two of them together. She then looked up when she heard someone knocking on the door.

“It’s occupied!” she yelled and hoped they would go away. She had no such luck when someone opened the door and walked inside; surprised to see that it was Spike.

He gave her a smile and closed the door behind him. “I had a feeling I would find you up here. This is where I would be if I wanted to get away.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and suddenly felt cold. “What are you doing in here? I figured you would be somewhere with Harmony.”

Spike raised his eyebrows and moved closer to her. “Why would I be anywhere with Harmony?”

Buffy tried not to cry in front of him. “I saw you two outside. You looked pretty cozy to me.”

Spike shut his eyes when he realized she saw that. He then opened them to see the hurt on her face. He sat down next to her on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. “She kissed me when I came here. I didn’t have much of a warning. I stopped her and I’m sure she knows that it won’t be happening again.”

Buffy looked confused now. “Why did you stop? I thought you liked her.”

Spike felt like laughing, but he kept a straight face. “What gave you that idea?”

Buffy shrugged and glanced away from him. “Harmony told me that you did. She said her friend overheard you saying how much you wanted her.”

Spike did laugh this time.

Buffy continued to look at him in confusion.

“I think I know what conversation was overheard. Her friend got it wrong, love. I wasn’t talking about Harmony.” He suddenly felt nervous, but tried not to show it. “I was talking about this other girl and I guess she got the wrong idea. I didn’t mention any names; just that she had blonde hair.”

Buffy nodded and looked away again. She was relieved knowing that he wasn’t interested in Harmony, but there was still someone else that he liked. She let out a sigh.

Spike looked at her in concern. “You okay?”

She gave him a small smile. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m just really wishing that I wasn’t here right now.”

Spike agreed and grabbed her hand, pulling her off of the bed.

She raised her eyebrows.

He only smiled at her. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Buffy nodded and let him lead her out of the room.


* * * * *


They were walking along the beach an hour later because it was a favorite spot for both of them. They managed to leave the party without anyone noticing.

Buffy figured that Harmony wouldn’t even miss her.

They stopped to stare out at the water.

Buffy took in a deep breath. “I love the ocean. I always come here at night when I know hardly anyone would be around. It’s always so beautiful at night.”

Spike agreed and glanced over at Buffy. He took a moment to stare at her, while she was entranced by the waves crashing in the ocean. He had his chance to tell her how he felt when they were at the party, but he chickened out. Instead making her think that he was interested in someone else, but he couldn’t believe that she would ever think that he was interested in Harmony. Spike could hardly stand the bint and he didn’t like the way she treated Buffy. The girl deserved better than that.

Buffy turned away from the ocean to catch him looking at her. She felt her breath catch in her throat at his intense expression. “What are you thinking about?” she wondered quietly.

Spike then realized that he had enough. It was time to tell her the truth. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and graced her with a smile. “You, Buffy. I’m always thinking about you.”

Chapter 5

“What?” Buffy finally responded after a moment of silence.

“I said that I was thinking about you. Why do you seem so surprised?”

She shook her head. “I just wasn’t expecting that. Why would you be thinking about me? I mean, I’m definitely nothing special.”

Spike caressed her cheek and looked into her eyes. “You’re very special, Buffy. I have always seen it. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, all right?”

Buffy nodded and still couldn’t believe everything he told her. “I never thought you noticed me.”

He smiled at her. “I thought I was being obvious. I’m always going to your house. I only went to that party because I knew you would be there. I thought you knew that I liked you.”

Buffy suddenly felt embarrassed. “I usually don’t catch things like that. I’m not exactly used to it. I’ve had a crush on you for a while now. I never believed you would ever have feelings for me.”

Spike took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “Well, now you know. So, would you like to go out with me tomorrow night?”

Buffy smiled, ecstatic that this was actually happening to her. “I would love to.”

He then brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “It’s a date, then. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Buffy nodded again and couldn’t seem to keep the smile off of her face. “Yeah, it’s a date.”

They were silent after that and continued to watch the waves in the ocean.

Buffy had an even bigger smile on her face when she thought about her sister. Yeah, Harmony was going to love this.


* * * * *


They got back to her house a little while later.

Spike was finding it hard to let her hand go. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

She nodded. “Right, unless you change your mind at the last minute. You could just stop by to let me know, since you live next door and all. You wouldn’t even have to use the phone.”

He stopped her rambling by touching his finger to her lips. “I won’t be changing my mind. I’ll be here tomorrow.”

Buffy smiled and was taken by surprise when he leaned closer to her, placing a soft kiss on her lips. It only lasted a second, but she has never felt anything like it. She touched her lips when he walked away and had to force herself not to let out a squeal.


* * * * *


“He kissed you? You are so lucky.” Dawn stated after Buffy told her what happened.

“It was just a peck on the lips.”

Dawn shook her head. “His lips still touched yours. I’m so jealous of you right now. Oh, can I be around when he picks you up tomorrow? I would give anything to see the look on Harmony’s face.”

Buffy smiled at her sister’s excitement. “I thought you were going out tomorrow night.”

Dawn’s smile suddenly turned into a frown. “Oh, I forgot. You’ll take pictures, right?”

Buffy rolled her eyes and nodded. “Sure, Dawn. I’ll do that,” she replied.

“And you were worried that he was interested in Harmony. I so knew he had a thing for you. You’ll be the envy of every girl in school. All of my friends like Spike, but you’re the only one that he has showed any interest in. Can I just say again how lucky you are?”

Buffy blushed at the comment and realized that Dawn was right. For the first time in her life, she actually did feel lucky. It quickly faded when Harmony decided to make her presence known.

“Jeez, thanks for letting me know that you were leaving.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t know you cared, Harmony.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please, I only don’t wanna get in trouble with Mom. I was too busy looking around for Spike, anyway. I don’t even know where he went. Did you see him?”

Buffy shook her head. “No, didn’t see him.”

Harmony let out a sigh. “Well, it’s obvious that he’s playing hard to get. Cordy told me that she saw him leaving with some girl, but that has to be a mistake. Spike is clearly interested in me.”

Buffy and Dawn both exchanged looks before turning back to their sister.

“Did she see what the girl looked like?” Buffy wondered, just wanting to be sure.

Harmony shook her head. “She didn’t get a good look. Oh well, I’m sure it was no one important. Why am I even talking to you?” she said, walking away and heading to her room.

Buffy and Dawn burst into laughter once she was gone.

Things were about to get very interesting.


* * * * *


Buffy was waiting for Spike to pick her up the next night. It was hard for her to keep a straight face around Harmony. She finally heard a knock on the door and was about to answer it, but Harmony beat her to it.

She had a huge smile on her face when she saw Spike standing there. “Spike, what are you doing here? Did you come by to talk to me? You felt bad about ditching me at the party, didn’t you? It’s so sweet of you to apologize.”

Spike rubbed the back of his neck and looked like he didn’t know what to say.

Buffy decided to help him out and stepped closer to him. “Actually, he’s here to see me. We have a date tonight.”

Harmony’s jaw practically dropped at that statement. “That’s crazy, you expect for me to believe that?”

Buffy shrugged and glanced at Spike.

He caught her look and nodded, turning his gaze back on the other blonde. “It’s true, Harmony.” He then put his arm around Buffy. “We’re going out now.”

Buffy smiled and was pleased at the expression on her sister’s face. “Don’t wait up,” she said and walked away with Spike, leaving Harmony to stare after them in shock.


* * * * *


I just wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews so far. I'm surprised by the feedback I've been getting for this story. I was a little nervous about this story and I was worried that no one would like it, but you all have made me feel so much better. I just hope you guys will continue to like it=)

Chapter 6

“I have never seen her look so stunned before. Would you think I was a terrible person if I said that I enjoyed it?”

Spike smiled and shook his head. “You could never be a terrible person. I don’t mean to be rude, but your sister deserved it after the way she’s been treating you.”

Buffy smiled as well, then continued the rest of the walk in silence.


* * * * *


They arrived at the Bronze a little while later and sat down at a table.

This was the first time that Buffy has ever been out with a guy and she really hoped that she wouldn’t screw it up. She hardly did the whole dating thing, but she was learning to like it.

They were trying to talk over the music, when a sexy brunette made her way over to them.

She had long, dark hair and was wearing an outfit that left nothing to the imagination. “Hey, Spike. Didn’t think you would be showing up tonight.”

Spike turned his gaze on her.

She was practically thrusting her breasts in his face, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“I needed a break. Buffy, this is Kelly. She goes to UC Sunnydale with me.”

Buffy only gave her a small smile.

Kelly didn’t seem that interested and looked Buffy up and down. She then let a fake smile form on her face. “You are just too cute. What college do you go to, sweetie?”

Buffy had a feeling that the other woman already knew the answer to that, but she replied after a few seconds. “I’m still in high school.”

Kelly rolled her eyes. “Of course you are,” she said with distaste, then looked back at Spike. “Are you babysitting now? That’s really sweet. Maybe when you ditch the kid, we can have some fun,” she said seductively and walked away, swaying her hips back and forth.

Buffy suddenly felt cold and wrapped her arms around herself.

“Hey, don’t listen to her. That’s just the way she is, I don’t even pay attention to it.”

Buffy nodded, even though she still felt uncomfortable.

Spike then took her hand in his and stared into her eyes. “Would you like to dance?”

She was relieved for the distraction and stood up with him.

He pulled her onto the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Buffy placed hers around his neck and didn’t look away from his gaze. “Does this feel weird to you?” she wondered.

Spike shook his head. “No, this feels very right. It feels like you were meant to be in my arms. Don’t listen to what anyone says, Buffy. The only thing that matters is us, okay?”

Buffy felt better at his words and nodded. She then rested her head against his chest as they continued their dance.


* * * * *


Spike and Buffy were sitting in the Espresso Pump later that night. They both had cravings for a cappuccino.

“How come you don’t live in a dorm?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I guess I’m not ready to leave my father alone. I’m all he has since my mum passed away. We may not always get along, but there are some good things about still living at home. Like having you right next door,” he said and caused her to blush. Spike always found it adorable when she did that.

“So, you’ve really been coming by to see me?”

Spike nodded and grasped her hand across the table. “I don’t know when I started to have feelings for you, but I know that it’s not something I’ve ever felt before. This is all new to me; just like I’m sure it is to you.”

She agreed and waited for him to continue.

“Buffy, all I know is that I can’t stop thinking about you. I don’t care about the age or the fact that you’re still in high school. That doesn’t matter to me. I mean, three years is hardly much of a difference. You have always seemed so much older, anyway. You are truly an amazing woman, I’ve always thought that,” he finished.

Buffy could hardly believe what she was hearing. “You called me a woman,” she said in awe.

Spike had to smile. “Because that’s what I see.”

Buffy smiled in return and still couldn’t believe that this was happening to her. She was grateful that Spike saw her as a woman and not a little girl like everyone else did. He then surprised her again by leaning closer to her. She took a deep breath before his lips met hers in a soft kiss. She kissed him back for what felt like forever, it was definitely more than a peck.

Spike pulled away when they needed to breathe and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You wanna get out of here?”

Buffy could only nod her head. She was finding it hard to speak at the moment.


* * * * *


They ended up at Spike’s house later.

Buffy didn’t feel like going home yet and his father was out of town.

They were busy making out on the couch.

Buffy felt Spike’s hand move under her shirt and caress her back. She then pulled away and felt herself blush under his intense stare.

“You okay?” he wondered.

She thought about what to tell him. “Yeah, I just needed a breather.”

He nodded in understanding. “Sorry, I’m moving too fast.”

Buffy shook her head. “You’re not; I’m just really new at this. I’ve never even kissed anyone before you.”

Spike raised his eyebrows. He didn’t realize that was her first kiss.

“I don’t have any experience with this, and I know that you do. So, I would understand if you didn’t want to do this anymore. If you would rather deal with someone with more experience.”

Spike quieted her with another kiss. “I want you, Buffy. Believe me, I love that you’re innocent. To be honest, I don’t have much experience either.”

Buffy was really surprised now. “You don’t? I always saw you with a lot of girls in school.”

Spike nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve dated, but it was never anything serious. I meant it when I said this was all new to me. You’re not alone, Buffy.”

She felt really relieved to hear that and smiled. “We can learn together.”

He agreed and caressed her cheek.

They got back to their make out session and nothing else seemed to matter, until she had to go home to face the wrath of Harmony.

Chapter 7

Buffy’s arm was grabbed in a tight grip the second she walked into her house. She was pulled upstairs and into her room, the door closing behind her. She was soon face to face with a very angry Harmony.

“What the hell is going on? Is this some sort of joke? There is no way that Spike would ever want to date you. That’s just insane!” she exclaimed.

Buffy rolled her eyes and figured this was coming. “It’s not a joke. We really like each other, so you should just get over it. You could have anyone you want, Harmony. Guys seem to like you, for some odd reason.”

Harmony crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t want just anyone. I want Spike and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let you get in my way.”

Buffy tried not to laugh. “Yeah, you do that. If you don’t mind, I would like to go to bed now.”

Harmony scowled at her.

Buffy was actually afraid of the look she was giving her.

“This is so not over, little sister.” She opened the door and stomped out of the room, slamming it behind her.

Buffy let out the breath that she was holding and sat on her bed. She smiled when she thought about Spike and all thoughts of Harmony left her head.


* * * * *


“I can’t believe that my lame sister is with a hottie like Spike. What the hell could he see in her?” Harmony complained for the millionth time.

“She’s smart, cute, pretty. I could go on. It’s not crazy for a guy to be into her. Your sister’s really not that bad, Harm.”

She stared at the brunette in shock. “Cordy, you’re supposed to be my friend here. How could you side with her?”

Cordelia rolled her eyes and really had enough of the conversation. “I’m not taking sides. I’m just saying that you’re always so hard on her. You should find another guy and forget about Spike. He’s not interested in you, deal with it.”

Harmony couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I’m not just gonna deal with it. Something is seriously wrong here. I’m going to find out what it is. I refuse to believe that Spike could actually like her.”

Cordelia let out a sigh and stood up. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. See you later,” she said and headed out of the cafeteria, not giving Harmony another glance.


* * * * *


“I really wish I could have been here. I would have loved to see the look on Harmony’s face. She needed to be bitch slapped by some reality.”

Buffy had to smile at her younger sister. “It was definitely a night I’ll never forget. I’m not going to let Harmony ruin it for me.”

Dawn agreed. “So, how good of a kisser is he?”

She blushed at the question and avoided her gaze.

“That good, huh?”

Buffy nodded and couldn’t manage to respond to that.

“Connor’s pretty great, too. He can do amazing things with his tongue.”

Buffy looked grossed out now. “Dawn, I don’t need to be hearing about that. You shouldn’t be doing that.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Please, I’m only a year younger than you. And I was just talking about kissing. Where’s your mind?”

Buffy shrugged and didn’t know what else to say. Dawn has been dating Connor for over a year now and she has gotten more action than Buffy ever has. She really hoped that Dawn was only talking about kissing. She couldn’t think of her little sister already having sex. She knew that Harmony wasn’t a virgin and Buffy felt so stupid sometimes that she was the only one that has hardly ever done anything. She was broken out of her reverie when Harmony barged into the room, with a glower on her face. Buffy was surprised that the look was directed at Dawn and not her.

“I am going to kill you!” she yelled and ran towards Dawn, causing her to jump off of the bed and head in the other direction.

Buffy grabbed Dawn’s arm when she ran by her and pulled the younger girl over to her side. “What are you doing?”

Harmony then turned a glare on her. “She ruined my favorite sweater,” she whined and held the sweater in her hands.

Buffy noticed that it had a huge rip in it.

“I was going to wear it to the Bronze tonight. I’m sick of you two brats always messing with my stuff.”

Buffy took a deep breath before she spoke. “I’m sure it was an accident.”

Dawn nodded and tried not to smile.

“This was so not an accident. I’m going to make you pay for this,” she spat and grabbed Dawn’s other arm.

Buffy pulled her away. “Leave her alone, Harmony. You have plenty of sweaters, wear something else.”

Harmony glared at both of them, then threw her hands in the air. “You have both ruined my life!” she screamed and ran out of the room.

“Feeling’s mutual!” Dawn yelled after her.

Buffy closed the door and then turned to Dawn. “Was it an accident?”

Dawn put on an innocent act. “Of course it was an accident. I would never do anything like that on purpose,” she said, placing her hand over her heart.

Buffy smiled. “You’re a terrible liar.”

Dawn agreed. “I could never get anything by you. That sweater was so ugly, it had to go.”

They both couldn’t hold their laughter in anymore. Harmony may have been a major pain, but it was always fun to torment her.


* * * * *


Harmony was pacing in her room and tried to think of something to do. She really hated her sisters sometimes and wished that she could get them back for all the pain that they have caused her. She couldn’t seem to bother with Dawn at the moment. Buffy was the one dating the guy that should be hers. She had to find a way to put a stop to that. Harmony grinned as a plan formed in her head, then went to her phone and dialed a familiar number.

“Hey, it’s me,” she said when the person picked up on the other end. “I need your help with something.” Harmony talked for a bit, then hung up the phone once she was finished. She smiled again and thought about the conversation that she had. Buffy would never know what hit her.

Chapter 8

Buffy walked into the apartment with Spike. It was a few weeks later and they have grown very close. She smiled at the dark haired man that greeted them.

“It’s good to see you, Spike. Thought you would have forgotten about me. You really need to consider moving in here if you’re not living in a dorm. I could use a roommate.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, mate. Sorry I haven’t been by lately. I’ve just been a bit busy,” he explained.

The guy smiled and looked at Buffy. “I can see that. My name’s, Xander.” He held his hand out to her.

She took it after a second. “Buffy,” she replied.

Xander raised his eyebrows and let her hand go. “So, this is Buffy?” he wondered, glancing back at Spike. “I definitely approve.”

Spike smiled at his friend. “I’m sure you do.”

Xander ushered them into the apartment, where they all sat down on the couch.

Buffy got to know Xander better. He seemed like a decent guy and he loved to make jokes. She didn’t always get them, but that didn’t stop her from laughing. It meant a lot to Buffy that Spike wanted her to meet his friends. That meant he wasn’t embarrassed to be with her. She still had a lot of insecurities to work through. She then excused herself to go to the bathroom after a little while.

Xander looked at Spike when she was gone. “I like her, man. She’s a sweet girl. I’m surprised you would go for someone so young, though. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

Spike sighed and knew he was bound to have this conversation. “I don’t care about that. Buffy’s different than the other girls I’ve been involved with. This one is really special. I wouldn’t give her up for anything in the world.”

Xander grinned and took a bite out of his sandwich. “Sounds like you’re in love,” he said with his mouth full, then grew surprised when Spike didn’t answer. “Wait, you’re in love with her? I was only kidding about that.”

Spike shrugged and looked away, when he then noticed that Buffy was standing behind him. The look on her face proved that she heard what they were talking about.

She quickly ran out of the apartment.

Spike let out the breath that he was holding. “Bloody hell,” he mumbled and glanced at Xander. “Thanks for that, mate.” He took off after Buffy, hoping that he didn’t scare her away for good. He saw her walking down the street and ran to catch up with her. “Buffy, wait!” he exclaimed, grabbing her arm to stop her. He was confused at the look he saw on her face. “I can explain,” he stated and let her arm go.

Buffy took a step back from him. “Explain what? Is what he said true? You love me?”

Spike sighed and wondered how he could get out of this one. He figured that telling the truth would be the best start. “I don’t know when it happened, but it’s true. I just wasn’t planning on you finding out like that.”

Buffy didn’t know what to think. “You do know that’s crazy, right? Spike, we’ve only been dating for a few weeks. I know that we’ve known each other for years, but that’s not the point. How can you be in love with someone after such a short time?”

He thought about what to tell her. “It has been known to happen before. It happened with my parents, Buffy. My dad knew that he loved my mum from the first moment he saw her. I’m not saying that happened with me, but I know that I feel it now.”

Buffy ran her fingers through her hair and gazed into his eyes. She took a deep breath before she spoke again. “I really care about you, but this is all happening so fast. I never expected any of this, Spike. I’m only sixteen and I’ve never dealt with love before. I wouldn’t even know how to deal with it. I just think I need some time to think about everything.” She was about to walk away, but Spike grasped her hand and turned her to look at him.

“Please tell me that you’re not ending this, Buffy. I can’t lose you now. If you don’t want me to love you, then I’ll try not to. It won’t be easy, but I’ll do what you want.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I want, Spike. I’m not ending anything. I just need to be alone right now and figure out what I feel. We’ll talk later, okay?”

He nodded and let her hand go. “Yeah, take all the time you need. You know where to find me.”

Buffy nodded as well and placed a kiss on his cheek. She then turned and walked away; leaving Spike to stare after her and hope that he didn’t just ruin everything.


* * * * *


“He actually said he loved you?” Willow asked Buffy later that night as they were both sitting in her room.

“He didn’t say the words exactly, but he feels it. I think I could have reacted a little better.”

Willow shook her head. “That’s a big deal, Buffy. I would have freaked if I were you. You were right to spend some time apart.”

Buffy let out a sigh and really wished she could believe that. “I don’t think it was the right thing to do. I think...I think I do love him. I never expected any of this to happen so soon. I’ve never been in love before, but I’m sure that’s what this is. No one makes me feel the way he does, Will. He treats me like I’m the only person in the world. I don’t think there could ever be anyone else for me.”

Willow smiled and was happy that her best friend found someone. “Are you going to tell him?” she wondered.

Buffy nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m going to talk to him tomorrow. This whole spending time alone thing was stupid. I can hardly go one day without seeing him.”

Willow had to smile again. “Well, I would say that was love.”

Buffy smiled in return, but it quickly faded when she thought about telling Spike. There was hardly any pressure since she already knew that he loved her, but she had a hard time expressing her feelings. She has never been in this position before and wasn’t sure what to do. The only thing she knew was that she loved Spike, nothing else seemed to matter.

Chapter 9

“Why do you need my help with this? I have more important things to do.”

Harmony rolled her eyes. “You owe me, Ryan. I know why you broke up with me. I know all about you and Amy, so the least you could do is help me.”

Ryan let out a sigh. He didn’t even know why he ever wasted time with the blonde. He basically only wanted her for her popularity, but he could care less about that now. He would help her out this one time, then really be done with her.

“Good, there’s the brat now. You have to keep her distracted, until I can get Spike here.”

Ryan shook his head at her ridiculous plan. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he remarked before heading to where Buffy was.

It was a good thing that Harmony knew her sister always went to the park on Saturdays. She watched Ryan walk away, then pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Spike’s number and waited for him to answer. She smiled when his sexy voice spoke on the other line. “Spike, it’s Harmony. You have to get to the park, something’s wrong with Buffy.” She tried to sound worried and Spike didn’t hesitate before saying that he would be right there. She then disconnected the call and waited.


* * * * *


“I’ve always been into you, Buffy. That’s why it never worked out with your sister. I need a woman that actually has a brain.”

Buffy was confused as Ryan talked to her. She never liked him and always figured that he never liked her; something really weird was going on.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows. “I’m really flattered and a little confused, but I already have a boyfriend,” she told him and thought about Spike. She hasn’t had a chance to talk to him yet since he expressed his feelings to her. She was brought out of her thoughts by Ryan’s laughter.

“You mean Spike? He’s no good for you, Buffy. I know all about him. He’s a player; he uses girls and then tosses them. As soon as he sleeps with you, he won’t want anything to do with you anymore. I knew a girl that he went with. He left her heartbroken. She slept with him and he didn’t even stick around the next morning. You’re better than that.”

Buffy was finding that very hard to believe. After all, Spike told her that he didn’t have a lot of experience. She didn’t understand why he would lie to her. “Spike isn’t like that, you must have heard wrong,” she replied and really believed that it was true.


* * * * *


“I’m so glad you’re here,” Harmony said once Spike showed up. He looked like he ran the whole way there.

“Where’s Buffy? Is she okay?” he panted, trying to catch his breath.

Harmony gave him a smile. “She’s fine; it was just a false alarm. She already went home.”

Spike sighed in relief and ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s good; I guess I’ll go check on her.” He was about to walk away, but Harmony wasn’t ready for him to leave.

“She’s not going anywhere; I was hoping we could talk.”

Spike wondered what she could possibly have to say to him, but he didn’t have to wonder for long.

Harmony grabbed his head and pulled his lips down to hers in a hard kiss.


* * * * *


“Hey, is that your sister?”

Buffy turned around and felt like her heart would stop at the sight of Spike kissing Harmony.

“I told you he can’t be trusted,” Ryan commented.

Buffy wouldn’t listen and made her way over to them.


* * * * *


Spike pulled away from Harmony. He was about to tell her to keep her lips off of him, but was confused by the twisted smile on her face.

“Oops, looks like we have an audience.”

Spike turned around to see Buffy standing there. He noticed the hurt expression on her face. “Love, this isn’t what it looks like. I didn’t want it; she just attacked me when I got here. I thought you were hurt.”

Buffy tried not to let her tears fall. “You expect for me to believe that? This is the second time you’ve kissed her. That makes me wonder if she’s really the one you’ve wanted this whole time. Are you just using me to get to my sister?”

Spike shook his head and had to make things right. “You know I would never do that, Buffy. She tricked me into coming here. Don’t you see? You’re playing right into her hands,” he explained, hoping that she believed him.

“I don’t know what’s real anymore. I trusted you, but I guess that was a mistake,” she claimed, then took off running in the other direction.

Spike watched her go and grew angry as he looked at Harmony. He had to keep telling himself that it wasn’t right to hit a girl. “I want you to stay away from me, you got that?” He didn’t wait for a reply and took off after Buffy.

Harmony flinched a little at his tone, but tried to not let it bother her.

Ryan hated the fact that he played a part in that deception. He glanced at Harmony and once again knew why things didn’t work out with them. “You’ve done enough, Harm. He’ll never want you. He’s clearly in love with her and nothing you do can change that. You need to deal with the fact that not every guy wants you. I didn’t break up with you because I found someone else. I was just tired of the way that you treat people. You’re a manipulative bitch and everyone knows it. I think it’s sick that you find pleasure from your own sister’s pain. I regret that I even helped you, but I don’t owe you anything. We’re done, Harmony. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore.” He walked away, leaving her to stare after him in confusion.

Harmony didn’t care about anything he had to say. She knew that she did the right thing and Spike would soon realize it. He’ll realize that Buffy’s not the girl for him. She didn’t even care that she hurt her sister, but there was a part of her that felt for Buffy. She just chose to ignore it.

Chapter 10

Spike pounded on Buffy’s door, determined to get her to talk to him. He wouldn’t lose her over something as stupid as this. He was relieved when she opened the door, which quickly turned to surprise when she didn’t even look angry or hurt.

Buffy just pulled him into the house and closed the door. “Did Harmony follow you?” she wondered.

Spike tried to push his shock aside to answer her. “I don’t think so. Buffy, are you okay? I thought you were mad at me.”

Buffy waved her hand in the air and pulled him upstairs to her room. She turned to look at him once they were inside. “I’m not mad at you. I just wanted Harmony to think that. I knew something was wrong the second that jerk ex-boyfriend of hers started to talk to me. I didn’t believe that you would really kiss her, Spike. I know Harmony pretty well, that was all her.”

Spike sighed in relief and grabbed her in a tight hug. “God, I was bloody terrified thinking that I lost you,” he claimed, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Don’t do that to me, love.”

Buffy nodded and pulled away from him. “Sorry about that. I had to make it believable. I’m sick of her always getting her way and thinking that she’s so perfect. It’s time for things to change.”

Spike had to smile at her. God, he loved this girl. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

Buffy gave him a smile in return. “Oh, I’m not going to do anything.”

Spike was confused, until he heard a voice behind him.

“No, but I will. Buffy could never pull this off,” Dawn said, showing them the pink book that she was holding.

“What’s that, nibblet?” he asked her.

Dawn smiled and opened the book. “This would be Harmony’s diary. She really needs to find a better hiding place. Keeping it in a box that has ‘diary’ written on the top is so lame. You should see some of the stuff she has in here. She says something bad about pretty much everyone in school, and most of them are supposed to be her friends. I wonder how they would feel when they find out what Harmony really thinks of them.”

Buffy glanced at the diary, then at her sister. “I don’t know, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Come on, Buffy. Don’t chicken out on me now. You were all set to get back at her a few minutes ago. She has this coming. It’s nothing compared to all the crap we’ve had to deal with over the years. She needs to be put in her place. I mean, dying her hair is nothing. We need to move on to something bigger,” she explained.

Spike spoke up after a moment. “You two dyed her hair green? That was bloody great,” he said with a smile, which quickly faded when he saw the look on Buffy’s face. He knew how much she hated pranks, but Dawn did have a point. “Well, you know I’ll be behind you. No matter what you decide to do.”

Buffy gave him a small smile. She then turned her attention back on Dawn. “All right, but this is all your doing.”

Dawn squealed and attacked her older sister in a hug. “I promise you won’t regret it. Harmony is never gonna know what hit her,” she claimed, then ran out of the room.

Buffy let out a sigh. “Sometimes she really scares me,” she said, sitting down on her bed.

Spike sat down next to her. “It’ll all work out, love. It’s just a shame that I don’t go to Sunnydale High anymore. I would have loved to see her reaction.”

She slapped him playfully on the arm. “I wish you were still there, too. You were the only thing that made school worth going to, even if you didn’t notice me then.”

Spike moved closer and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “I always noticed you,” he whispered and kissed her again, this time making it longer.

Buffy pushed him away a little when she needed to breathe. “As much fun as this is, I think you should go now. I don’t want Harmony to see you.”

Spike agreed and stood up. “I’m already gone.” He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

Buffy nodded and watched him walk away, then lay down on her bed and thought about everything that happened. She really hoped they were doing the right thing.


* * * * *


Buffy sat up when Harmony barged into her room later. She tried to look upset, but all she felt was pissed off.

“So, you left in a hurry. I hope it wasn’t something I did.”

“You know what you did,” Buffy mumbled and got off of her bed, making her way over to the window.

“Seriously, Buffy. Did you really think you could keep a guy like Spike? He is way out of your league. He’s had tons of girls and you just can’t compete with that. I was doing you a favor.”

Buffy couldn’t take anymore and decided to give Harmony a piece of her mind. “You think you did me a favor? Admit it, Harm. You just couldn’t handle the fact that Spike chose me over you. You already get everything in this world. Why do you have to go after the one person that means anything to me? God, do you hate me that much? I have never done anything to deserve this. I want you to get out of here.”

Harmony was a little surprised at the outburst. “Look, it’s not my fault that Spike can’t resist me. I tried to push him away, Buffy. He’s been constantly following me around and saying he wants to be with me. I told him that I couldn’t do that to you, but he wouldn’t listen. It’s obvious that he only started going out with you to get closer to me. You really don’t want a boyfriend like that. So, I really was doing you a favor.”

Buffy cringed at her sister’s words. There was no part of her that believed it. She trusted Spike completely and that was all she needed to know. She stared at Harmony and tried not to laugh at the fake look of concern on her face. “Thank you,” she replied.

Harmony smiled and felt pleased with herself. “Hey, I’m just looking out for my sister,” she said and patted Buffy on the head like she was a dog, then left the room.

Buffy glared daggers at her back. “No, thank you for making me feel less guilty about ruining your life,” she said to herself and thought about what was likely to happen at school the next day. She had no doubts that Dawn would pull it off.

Chapter 11

Harmony walked out of class, with her friends trailing right behind her.

“The teachers seriously need to learn about fashion at this school. How does she expect anyone to pay attention to her in that outfit?”

Megan and Natalie nodded in agreement. They always agreed with everything Harmony said.

The blonde stopped suddenly when she noticed a commotion in the distance. She just had to check it out, being the nosy person that she was. She found some students at their lockers and it looked like they were reading something. Harmony was curious and walked over to Cordelia when she saw the brunette at her locker. It had to be something good if Cordy was so engrossed in it. “Hey, Cor? What’s so interesting?”

Cordelia suddenly turned a glare on Harmony. “You slept with Angel?”

Harmony gulped at what her friend said. Angel was Cordelia’s boyfriend of two years and it happened a few months ago. She never thought the brunette would find out. “How...How did you know that?” she stuttered out.

Cordelia threw the paper that she was reading in her face.

Harmony was confused and gazed at the paper. She gasped when she saw what was on it. It was an exact copy of what she wrote in her diary about the time that she was with Angel. She looked back up at Cordelia’s face to see that the other girl really wasn’t happy.

“You must think I’m pretty stupid, Harm. It actually explains a lot now that I think about it. You’ve been acting weird around me, and Angel has been distant lately. What? You couldn’t handle the fact that I had a boyfriend and you didn’t?”

Harmony shook her head. “No, I never meant for it to happen. It was a mistake, we both know that. We had too much to drink. We decided not to tell you because we didn’t wanna hurt you,” she explained.

Cordelia snatched the paper out of her hands and ripped it in half, throwing the pieces to the floor. “Save it, Harmony. We’re done here,” she spat and walked away, without even bothering to look back.

Harmony couldn’t believe that just happened. She turned to Megan and Natalie to see that they were just as surprised.

They just shook their heads and headed to their own lockers, only to find a similar piece of paper there as well.

Megan grabbed it, her eyes bulging at what she read. She turned back to Harmony and held the paper up for her to see. “So, you think I’m a flake? You’re really one to talk.” She threw the paper to the floor and stomped away.

Harmony picked it up and noticed that it was another page from her diary. What the hell was going on?

“I am not a crybaby!” Natalie yelled once she read the paper that was on her locker. She then ran away, with tears streaming down her face.

Harmony didn’t understand what was happening, but she was determined to find out.


* * * * *


“Everyone is talking about Harmony, and not in a good way,” Willow said to Buffy later that day in the cafeteria. “Your sister is a genius. I can’t believe she pulled that off.”

Buffy sighed and looked at her friend. “Yeah, Dawn’s a genius all right. I know I should be happy that Harmony is finally getting what she deserves, but I can’t help feeling bad about it. This would make me just as bad as her.”

Willow shook her head. “You could never be like Harmony. Besides, you really didn’t do anything.”

Buffy nodded. “I know, but I still knew about it.”

Willow didn’t know what else to say, when an excited brunette came over to them and sat down.

“This is the best day ever. No one is talking to Harmony; everyone in school practically hates her now. Job well done, if I do say so myself.”

Buffy had to smile a little at her sister, even though she wasn’t really feeling it. “Should we be happy about this? I mean, she is our sister. As much as I hate to admit that.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Hell yeah, we should be happy about it. You know she had this coming, Buffy. She has been making our lives miserable; maybe things will finally get better now.”

Buffy thought about what Dawn said and agreed. “I guess you’re right.”

Dawn gave her sister a smile. “I’m always right.”

They then noticed Harmony walk in and sit at a table by herself.

Dawn glanced back at Buffy. “I should feel bad that she’s all alone right now, but all I feel is giddy,” she said and got up, heading out of the cafeteria to meet with Connor.

Buffy let out another sigh and watched Harmony in the distance. She really hoped that things would get better.


* * * * *


Buffy entered her house after school and headed to her room, but she didn’t get very far. She was pushed into a wall and turned to see the angry face of Harmony.

“What the hell did you do that for?” she wondered, rubbing her arm.

“You did that to me! You stole my diary and posted every bad thing I wrote around school! They all hate me now because of you!”

Buffy decided that it would be best if she took the blame. She wouldn’t want to get Dawn in trouble. “I only did it to get back at you for trying to take Spike from me. We’re still together, Harmony. I know everything you told me was a lie. I wanted you to realize how it feels to have everything you love taken away from you. It doesn’t feel good, does it?”

Harmony suddenly slapped Buffy across the face.

She was shocked and touched her stinging cheek.

“I wish you weren’t my sister!” Harmony yelled and ran into her room, slamming the door behind her.

Buffy removed her hand from her cheek and looked to where Harmony was once standing. “Yeah, the feeling’s mutual,” she said to herself, then went to her room and closed the door.

Chapter 12

“I can’t believe she hit you,” Spike said and caressed the mark on Buffy’s cheek.

They were both sitting outside her house later that night.

“Well, she was pretty angry.”

Spike wouldn’t accept that. “She still didn’t have any right hitting you. Wasn’t the diary thing Dawn’s idea?”

Buffy nodded. “Yeah, but Harmony figured I did it. I just let her think what she wants. It doesn’t really matter to me.”

Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy and pulled her closer to him, pressing his lips softly to the bruise.

She closed her eyes at his touch.

“Does that feel better?” he whispered to her.

Buffy could only manage a nod.

Spike gently licked her cheek.

She felt chills down her spine.

He then started to kiss her on the lips.

She was eager to respond.

Spike slipped his hand underneath her shirt and caressed her stomach as the kiss grew more passionate.

They both quickly pulled away when the back door opened.

Buffy looked up at the angry expression on her mother’s face, knowing what put it there.

“I think you should go home now, William. I need to speak with my daughter.”

Spike nodded and stood up. He glanced at Buffy one more time before walking away.

“Get inside this house, young lady,” she said once Spike was gone.

Buffy sighed and followed her mother into the house.

Joyce closed the door and looked at her daughter. “What has gotten into you lately? Your sister is upstairs crying her eyes out right now because of what you did to her at school. How could you have done that, Buffy? You have been acting up ever since you started seeing William. Maybe it would be best if you two spent some time apart.”

Buffy couldn’t believe what she was hearing and decided to speak up. “He has nothing to do with this. Harmony is the problem, Mom. Why can’t you ever see that? She has always been your favorite. Hell, she’s everyone’s favorite. Excuse me for wanting that to change. I’m sick of going to a school where they only know me as Harmony’s little sister. I wanted to be recognized for once,” she explained and hoped that something would get through to her mother.

“So, you decide to embarrass your sister in front of her friends? I am surprised at you, Buffy. I love all three of you equally.”

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from her mother’s gaze. “You have a funny way of showing it,” she mumbled.

It was loud enough for Joyce to hear. “All right, this kind of behavior isn’t acceptable. I want you to go upstairs and apologize to your sister.”

Buffy felt like laughing at that suggestion, but she held it back. “I have nothing to apologize for. She never apologized to me for everything that she’s done. Why should I? I don’t regret what happened. I would do it again if I could. She’s a bitch and it’s about time people realized that.” She knew that she said the wrong thing when she saw the look on her mother’s face, but she couldn’t seem to care.

“I want you to go to your room and think about what you’ve done. You are not to go out anywhere for the next few weeks. You are only allowed to go to school and then come straight home. I don’t want you with that boy again. Not until you are ready to apologize and behave yourself. Do I make myself clear?” she finished in a surprisingly calm voice.

Buffy gave her a hard stare. “Crystal,” she replied, then ran upstairs and into her room.


* * * * *


“Wow, that’s harsh. You’re not even allowed to see him?” Willow said on the phone after Buffy told her about what happened.

“Not unless I apologize to her royal highness. It’ll be a cold day in Hell before that happens.”

Willow nodded, even though Buffy couldn’t see her. “You shouldn’t have to apologize. I’m sure your mom will come around,” she said, trying to make her friend feel better.

“I doubt it; you know how my mom can get. I’ll just have to find a way around it.”

Willow was curious now. “You mean you’re going to sneak around? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Buffy shrugged and played with the cover on her bed. “Harmony’s done it enough times; I think I could pull it off. I just can’t apologize to her, Will. And I can’t go weeks without seeing him either.” She looked at the time and realized that she should probably end the call. “I have to go now, wouldn’t want mommy dearest to know I’m on the phone,” she claimed, hanging up after Willow said goodbye.

Dawn knocked on her door, then walked into the room. “Hey, I heard what happened. Why are you taking the blame for this? It was my idea to screw Harmony over. You didn’t even really wanna do it,” she said, sitting down next to her sister.

“There’s no reason for both of us to get in trouble. Harmony thought it was me and I didn’t exactly correct her. It’s not a big deal, Dawny.”

That didn’t stop Dawn from feeling guilty. “I just feel bad that you got grounded for something that was my fault.”

Buffy smiled and tried to lighten the mood. “Now you have some competition. You shouldn’t be the only one to get grounded around here. There’s a first time for everything.”

Dawn returned her smile. “Well, good luck trying to catch up to me. I’ve been grounded twice in the last month.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at her sister’s obvious excitement over the idea. “Yeah, that’s really something to be proud of. You’re such a bad seed,” she replied, shoving Dawn in a playful way.

“You better believe it. I’ll probably end up having sex before you, too.”

Buffy was shocked. “You better not even be thinking about that. You’re way too young.”

Dawn rolled her eyes now. “Please, like you’re not thinking about it. How can you be with Spike and not think about having sex?”

Buffy blushed and looked away. “Okay, this discussion is over.”

Dawn laughed at her sister’s embarrassment. “I so knew it.”

Buffy pushed Dawn and almost caused her to fall off of the bed. “Shut up, brat,” she said in a teasing tone.

Dawn stuck her tongue out.

Joyce then appeared in the doorway. “Dawn, go to your room. Buffy is not allowed to have any company right now.”

She rolled her eyes again and got up, making her way out of the room

Joyce looked at Buffy. “You should get to bed.”

“Yes, Mother,” she responded in an emotionless voice.

Joyce only sighed and shut her daughter’s door. Buffy had never talked back before and Joyce was really starting to get worried. She didn’t know what she was going to do with her.

Chapter 13

Buffy was confused when she walked into school the next day. Everyone was staring at her and she couldn’t remember ever getting so much attention before. She was a little late, but didn’t think anyone would care about that. She just shook it off and headed to her locker, where she found Willow waiting for her.

“Hey, why is everyone looking at me? Is there something on my face?” she wondered and opened her locker, getting whatever she would need for the day.

Willow looked like she had something to say, but didn’t know how. “No, you look great,” she commented instead.

Buffy felt even more worried. She knew that expression on her friend’s face. “What’s going on?”

Willow took a deep breath before she spoke again. “Buffy, there’s a rumor going around about you.”

Buffy’s eyes bulged. “What rumor?”

Willow took another breath. “They’re saying that you’re easy. That this whole shy thing of yours is an act, and that you’ll put out for anyone,” she stated in a rush.

Buffy was appalled when she finished. “What? Where did you hear that?”

“I heard some of the cheerleaders talking. I swear, Buffy. I didn’t believe a word they said. I just thought you should know.”

Buffy tried to calm herself down as she thought about how a rumor like that could get started. She then gasped when realization hit her. “I’m going to kill Harmony,” she said harshly, slamming her locker door shut and heading in the other direction to look for her sister.


* * * * *


Buffy finally found her outside the girl’s locker room a little while later. She didn’t even care that Harmony was talking to a few of her friends. She was surprised that her sister still had any left after the whole diary thing. Her expression turned angry as she stomped over to her.

“So, you decide to get me back by spreading lies about me? That’s really pathetic.”

Harmony turned around, looking like she didn’t even care. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, little sister. I only told everyone the truth. That you’ll basically spread your legs for anyone,” she said with a smile.

Buffy just wanted to slap if off of her face. “I think you just described yourself, Harmony. I am not a slut like you are. You must be crazy if you think that anyone will believe that.”

Harmony shrugged and pretended to examine her manicure.

A few of the football players suddenly strolled down the hall.

The one in lead smirked when he noticed Buffy. “Hey, Summers? Care to give me and my buddies a good ride?”

His friends burst into laughter behind him.

Buffy was mortified at what he was implying and noticed the satisfied smile on Harmony’s face. She was not going to cry in front of them. “You went too far,” she told her sister, then took off running. She wanted to get as far away as she could.


* * * * *


“God, you really are a bitch.”

Harmony turned back around when she heard another familiar voice behind her, only to see Dawn standing there.

“You’re not satisfied until everyone around you is miserable.”

Harmony rolled her eyes and was really sick of dealing with her bratty sisters at the moment. “I was only getting her back. That’s what she gets for humiliating me.”

Dawn had enough and moved closer to the blonde. “For your information, Buffy wasn’t the one that humiliated you. Not that you would even care, but I was the one that posted your diary entries around school. It was my idea and Buffy was even against it. No matter how much hell you’ve put us through in the past, she didn’t think it was right to embarrass you in front of everyone. She covered for me because that’s what good sisters do, but you wouldn’t know anything about that,” she finished and walked away from Harmony, leaving the older girl to stare after her.


* * * * *


Dawn found her sister in one of the bathrooms. She knocked on the stall door, where she heard the sobs coming from.

Buffy opened it after a few seconds.

Dawn noticed how red her eyes were. “Hey, you okay?” she asked, even though she knew there was no way Buffy could be okay.

“No, I’m not okay. I wanted to be noticed and this is my payback. They all think I’m a slut now. I had to deal with disgusting comments from guys that have never talked to me before. God, I just want to go home,” she said, burying her head in her hands.

Dawn rubbed her back in comfort. “It’ll be okay, Buffy. I told Harmony the truth about the diary thing. She might leave you alone now.”

Buffy shook her head and looked up at Dawn. “It doesn’t even matter anymore, the damage is already done. I can hardly show my face now.”

Dawn pulled her up and out of the stall. “All right, you’re going home. I think the day is done for you. Mom won’t be there, so you don’t have to worry. I think it was about time you took a day off from school, anyway.”

Buffy didn’t say anything and just nodded. She was too tired to argue.

“Just go home and get some rest. I swear all of this will blow over by tomorrow. I don’t care if I have to flash this whole school to get them to stop talking about you. I’ll do it.”

Buffy managed a tiny smile. “I don’t think Connor would appreciate that.”

Dawn shrugged. “You’re my sister. Connor knows that you come first. He’s just gonna have to accept it.”

Buffy smiled bigger and gave Dawn a hug. The younger girl always knew how to cheer her up. They have always been really close and were practically best friends. She was really lucky to have Dawn in her life.

They pulled out of the embrace a few seconds later.

“I guess I’ll see you at home. Thanks for everything, Dawny. You’re the best.”

Dawn waved her hand in the air like it was no big deal. “I know I’m the best. You’re not so bad yourself.”

Buffy gave her one more smile before she left the bathroom.

Dawn watched her go and really hoped that everything would get better for her sister.

Chapter 14

“I’m not one to hit girls, but I think I would make an exception for Harmony,” Spike stated and continued to run his fingers through her hair.

Buffy decided to go to his house instead of hers once she returned from school. She was just grateful that he didn’t have classes until later.

They were both currently sitting together on his bed.

“It’s tempting, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”

Spike sighed and really wished he could do something to make her feel better. “I’m sorry, Buffy. If any of those blokes give you anymore trouble, you just let me know and I’ll deal with them.”

Buffy glanced up at him. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me, Spike. I can handle a few jerks. It’s my sister that I’m not handling so well. I bet if I told my mom about this, she wouldn’t even care. Harmony has always been her favorite. I never understood that. It’s not like she does anything important. I just can’t compete with her.”

“There’s no competition, love. You are a far better woman,” he claimed, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

Buffy smiled at the fact that he called her a woman again.

They just remained silent after that.


* * * * *


Buffy entered her house and realized that no one was home yet. She just went upstairs to her room and decided to lie down for a little while. She was lost in her thoughts and never noticed that someone came home, until she heard the voice in her doorway.

“When did things get so complicated?”

Buffy sat up with a start when she saw Harmony standing there, confused by the look on her older sister’s face. “What are you talking about?”

Harmony shrugged and sat down on Buffy’s bed. “Things weren’t always like this. We used to be closer, you know?”

Buffy nodded. “Yeah, that was before you went to junior high and became a bitch.” She noticed the look of guilt on Harmony’s face and was shocked by it, but she didn’t say anything.

“Okay, I deserve that. I know I haven’t been the best sister, but you don’t know what it’s like. There’s so much pressure.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows. “You think you’re under pressure? How do you think it feels to be me? I’ve been living in your shadow for so long. For once, I want others to notice me for me. Not because I’m Harmony’s sister. Not because I’m the smart girl that everyone can go to for tutoring, but just because I’m me. You don’t know what that’s like.”

Harmony let out a sigh. “I’ve always envied you,” she admitted softly.

Buffy was beyond shocked at this point. “Huh?” she replied.

Harmony took a deep breath before she continued. “I’ve always wished that I could be more like you. You’re really smart and sometimes I would give anything to be that brainy. To actually get good grades in school and know that Mom was proud of me for something that I really deserve. Not some stupid cheerleading trophy that doesn’t even mean that much. I would even wish to be more like Dawn and have the nerve to pull a stunt like that. She takes risks and I would give anything to be able to do that. I’ve never done anything exciting in my whole life.” A pause. “I never told anyone this, but Ryan dumped me for someone that was smarter. He said I was too shallow and self-centered. I didn’t really listen at the time, but I know he was right.”

Buffy was staring at her with a dropped jaw. She couldn’t believe this was her sister. Harmony had never opened up that much to anyone before. She thought about what to say. “Look, you don’t have to try so hard. You should stop worrying about impressing everyone else and just be yourself. Be the person that was there for me when we were kids. The person that used to always check for monsters in my closet, so I would be able to sleep better. I miss that person.”

Harmony realized how much everything changed as she looked at her sister. She felt tears in her eyes and quickly wiped them away, then did something that really took the other girl by surprise. She hugged her.

Buffy didn’t know what else to do, so she returned the embrace.

Dawn chose that moment to walk into the room. She gasped at the sight of both of her sisters hugging. “Whoa, did I somehow end up in an alternate universe?”

Buffy laughed and pulled out of the hug. She was about to respond, but their mother suddenly showed up in the doorway.

Joyce was just as confused to see all three of her daughter’s together, without any blood being spilled. “What’s going on in here?” she wondered.

No one knew what to say, until Harmony spoke up.

“Nothing, we were just talking. I realized that I don’t really know my sisters that well. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Joyce seemed to accept it, even though she was a bit suspicious. She was about to leave the room, when Harmony’s voice stopped her.

“Mom, I wanted to tell you that Buffy wasn’t the one that posted my diary entries around school.”

Dawn figured that it was her turn to get in trouble, but Harmony took her by surprise.

“It was this girl in one of my classes. She has always had something against me. I made the stupid mistake of bringing my diary to school and I guess I left it in class. She must have found it.”

Dawn sighed in relief as they all waited for Joyce to say something.

“Oh, well I suppose you don’t have to be punished anymore then,” she commented to Buffy. “Why did you tell me that you were the one that did it?”

Buffy shrugged. “I just figured that you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Honey, you could have told me. I know you may not believe it, but I love you very much. I love all three of you the same. I could never choose one over the other. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I was.”

Buffy felt tears in her eyes and stood up to embrace her mother.

Joyce smiled and wrapped her arms around her daughter in return.

Harmony and Dawn then joined in on the hug.

It was probably the weirdest moment of Dawn’s life, but it also felt really good.

They all pulled out of the hug after a few seconds.

Joyce gave her daughters one more smile before she exited the room.

Dawn turned back to her sisters, with the confusion written clearly on her face. “Okay, I think I missed a very important conversation here.”

Buffy smiled and ran her fingers through her younger sister’s hair. “We’ll tell you about it later.”

Dawn nodded in acceptance. She then remembered what she wanted to say earlier. “You don’t have to worry about that rumor anymore, Buffy.”

“Why not?” she wondered.

A huge smile formed on the young girl’s face. “You guys missed out today. That’s already old gossip; they’re not even talking about the diary thing anymore.”

Harmony was interested now and waited for Dawn to continue.

“You know that guy, James Stanley?”

They both nodded.

“Well, he was caught making out with Ms. Newman in her classroom. I mean, how stupid can you get? He totally got busted by Snyder. It’s all anyone can talk about now. And I’m sure Ms. Newman can kiss her job goodbye. That kinda sucks, I liked her.”

They were both shocked by the news.

Harmony was the one that spoke first. “God, I always knew that guy was a perv.”

Buffy had to agree, which was something that she never thought would happen. She was just relieved that no one would be spreading lies about her anymore. She hoped this gossip would last for a while. She smiled when she gazed at both of her sisters, who were still talking about it.

Things were finally starting to look better.

Chapter 15

“We actually had a real conversation. I never would have seen it coming,” Buffy explained, sitting down next to Spike on his bed.

“Does this mean I have to start liking her now?” he wondered.

“I’m not even sure if I really like her yet, but things are getting better. She actually took out the trash yesterday, which is a big breakthrough for Harmony.”

Spike nodded and put his arm around her. “She does know to leave me alone now, right?”

Buffy smiled at him. “I don’t think she’ll be a problem anymore. She apologized for trying to come between us. I guess she’s always used to getting the guy that it was hard to deal with the fact that one could actually reject her. Not to mention choosing to be with the sister that she never thought could get a boyfriend. I guess I showed her.”

Spike placed a kiss on her cheek. “That you did, love. I’ll always be yours.”

Buffy felt touched at his words and really believed that he would always be there. She kissed him on the lips and it lasted for a few seconds. She pulled away and looked into his eyes, finally being able to tell him what she wanted. “Spike, I think I’m ready.”

His eyes bulged at what she was implying. “Are you sure, Buffy? I don’t want you to think that you have to. There’s no hurry.”

Buffy caressed his cheek. “I want to, Spike. I want my first time to be with you. I know you would make it special.”

Spike pressed his forehead to hers and couldn’t remember ever feeling so much love for someone. This girl had implanted herself into his heart in such a short time, but he couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. He kissed her this time, putting all the love and passion that he felt for her behind it. He then started to remove his clothes.

Buffy followed his lead and suddenly felt shy when he stared at her so intensely. She grabbed the blanket to cover herself, but he wouldn’t let her.

“Don’t hide yourself from me, Buffy. You’re absolutely breathtaking,” he whispered.

Buffy felt her cheeks heat up at his declaration, then lay back on the bed.

Spike got on top of her. He gave her a soft kiss on the mouth and trailed his lips down her neck, sucking and licking at her flesh.

Buffy moaned and ran her fingers through his hair.

Spike then pulled away to open the drawer next to his bed. He grabbed a condom that he found inside and put it on. He stared into her eyes and moved back on top of her. “It’s going to hurt a little at first, but I promise it will get better.”

Buffy nodded as he positioned himself at her entrance. She took a deep breath when he slowly slid into her. She shut her eyes at the pain it caused, not knowing it would hurt so much.

Spike kissed her closed eyelids.

Buffy opened them back up to look at the concerned expression on his face. The pain started to fade as he moved within her.

“Does it feel better?” he asked softly.

She nodded. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Don’t stop.”

That was the last thing Spike wanted to do. He buried his face against her neck and started to move faster inside of her. She was so incredibly tight and felt wonderful. He never wanted it to end, but he could sense that she was close.

They were soon brought to release and he remained on top of her for a moment, both breathing heavily.

Spike pulled out of her after a few seconds and lay down beside her, so she wouldn’t be crushed. He threw the condom away when he got his breathing under control and gazed at the vision next to him, planting a kiss on her shoulder. “You are amazing, you know that?”

Buffy blushed at his words. She didn’t think she would ever get used to the compliments. “You make me feel amazing.”

He then kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll spend the rest of my life making you feel that way.”

Buffy couldn’t help the tears that seemed to form in her eyes at his statement. “I love you,” she responded.

Spike had a soft smile on his face now. He never expected her to be the first one to say the actual words. “I love you, too. More than anything,” he told her.

Buffy smiled in return and rested her head against his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

They were both soon fast asleep.


* * * * *


Buffy entered her house early the next morning. She didn’t mean to fall asleep at Spike’s and just hoped that no one knew she was out all night. She was about to walk quietly up to her room, when a voice stopped her.

“Where have you been?”

Buffy turned around to see her mother standing there and she didn’t look happy. “I was at Spike’s. We must have lost track of time,” she said and hoped that her mother would leave it at that, but there was no such luck.

“What exactly were you doing with Spike all this time?”

Buffy took in a breath and thought about what to say. “We were just talking and then fell asleep. I didn’t realize how late it was.”

Joyce sighed and clearly didn’t believe that was the whole story. “We need to talk, Buffy.” She just grabbed her daughter’s hand and pulled her into the living room.

They both sat down on the couch and Buffy waited for her mother to speak first.

“I know you’re not a child anymore and that you have an older boyfriend now, but I am still your mother. I want you to know that you can always talk to me.”

Buffy nodded and waited for her to continue.

“I just want you to tell me the truth. Have you two been sleeping together?” she asked and anxiously awaited Buffy’s answer.

Buffy figured that there was no way to get out of it now. “It only happened once. It was my idea. He wanted to wait, but I felt that I was ready.”

Joyce let out another sigh. She already had to deal with Harmony being sexually active at a young age. She never figured that she would have to deal with the same thing from Buffy. Dawn was another story, but Joyce couldn’t even think about that at the moment. She just had to keep believing that her youngest was still a virgin. “Were you careful?”

Buffy nodded. “Yes, Spike used protection.”

Joyce felt relieved and gave Buffy’s hand a squeeze. “I just want you to be safe, honey. I know I haven’t been the best mother to you, but I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Buffy shook her head. “Spike would never hurt me, Mom. We love each other. I know you probably think I’m too young to understand, but I really do love him.”

Joyce graced Buffy with a small smile. She couldn’t believe how grown up her daughter was now. They all seemed to grow up too fast. “I know you do. I think William is a good man. I know he’ll take good care of you,” she replied and started to run her fingers through Buffy’s hair.

Buffy then gave her mother a hug.

Joyce returned the embrace.

“I love you, Mommy,” she said in a small voice.

Joyce held her tighter. “I love you, too. Nothing will ever change that.”

Mother and daughter just continued to sit there in silence as they held each other, pleased with the fact that they both finally reached an understanding.

Chapter 16

Buffy knocked on Spike’s door the next day and smiled at the older man that greeted her.

“Hey, Giles. I didn’t know you were coming back already.”

The man gave her a smile in return. “Yes, I had a change of plans. I take it you’re here to see William,” he said, letting her into the house.

“Yeah, is he here?”

Giles nodded. “He’s in his room. William has told me that you two are together now. I don’t think I have ever seen my son quite this happy before, I believe you are the reason for that. I honestly don’t think he could be with anyone better.”

Buffy felt touched at his words and gave him a hug. Giles always felt like a father to her, more than her real one ever was. “Thank you, I really appreciate that,” she told him and pulled away.

He gave her another smile. “You’re quite welcome. Would you please tell my son that I will be going to the market? I should return in an hour.”

Buffy nodded and watched Giles leave the house, then headed to Spike’s room and knocked on his door. She heard music coming from inside and figured that he couldn’t hear her, so she opened the door. She found Spike asleep on his bed when she walked in. His arm hung over the edge and he was snoring quietly. Buffy thought he was absolutely adorable, she almost didn’t want to wake him. She walked over to him and poked him lightly on the chest. That didn’t seem to get a reaction from him, so she poked him harder. He still wouldn’t budge and she was about to do it again, when he suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the bed. She let out a squeal as she landed on top of him.

Spike’s eyes opened and stared right at her. “I was waiting for you.”

Buffy realized that he wasn’t really asleep. She smiled and pressed her lips to his, then got off of him.

He pouted at the loss of contact, then noticed that she was wearing the leather jacket he gave to her. It really did look great on her. “I see you’re wearing the jacket. It’s a little warm out.”

She shrugged. “Well, I like it. It’s comfortable and the heat never bothered me, anyway. You know, I was thinking about this jacket. You may not be a huge guy, but I realized the jacket wouldn’t really fit you all that well. I was surprised by how well it fit me, though. Is there something you wanna tell me?”

He saw the smile on her face and let out a sigh. “All right, you caught me. It’s not an old one that I just had lying around. I saw it in a store and thought of you. I wanted to find a way to give it to you, without you thinking that I bought it for you. Okay, I don’t even think that made any sense.”

Buffy laughed. “It made perfect sense. That was really sweet of you.”

Spike shrugged and acted like it was no big deal. “I didn’t want you to get cold,” he mumbled.

Buffy didn’t think he could possibly get any cuter. He was just full of surprises. She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the lips.

He groaned when she pulled away after only a second. “Is that all I get?”

Buffy flashed him a smile and planted a more passionate kiss on his lips.

Spike wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss. He pulled away when they both needed to breathe and rested his head against hers. “I’ll never get tired of that.”

She smiled again and gave him another kiss.

They wondered how long it would be before they left his room.


* * * * *


Buffy and Spike finally walked into the Bronze later that night and instead of sitting down, they moved to the dance floor. Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy and she did the same, both of them swaying slowly to the music. They were lost in their own world, when Buffy accidentally bumped into someone.

She was about to apologize, until she realized who the other person was.

He recognized her as well and gave her a twisted smile. “Hey, it’s Slutty Summers. I was just thinking about you.”

Buffy should have known those rumors wouldn’t just go away as she looked at Mike Waters. He was one of the popular guys at school and always loved to make people uncomfortable.

Spike pulled Buffy away and glared at the other man that dared to interrupt them. “You better show some respect, pillock,” he spat.

Mike was only amused. “Isn’t this cute? You have yourself a bodyguard. How much are you paying to screw her?” he said to Spike, who then had a look of pure anger on his face.

Buffy grabbed his hand and really didn’t want to cause a scene. “Spike, let’s just go.”

His expression softened when he glanced at her and nodded.

They were about to walk away, when Mike spoke up again.

“Well, I see who wears the pants in that family. You probably like it when the little whore tells you what to do.”

Spike had enough and wasn’t going to let the wanker talk about Buffy like that. He bounded back over to Mike and without giving it much thought, punched him right in the face.

Mike stumbled back and held his nose, which was now bleeding.

Spike didn’t feel any remorse for his actions. “You ever say that about her again and you’ll be getting more than a bloody nose. You got that?” he said in a surprisingly calm voice, then noticed that Security was starting to head in their direction. He didn’t seem to care and only wanted to get his girl out of there. He went back over to Buffy and noticed the scared expression on her face. Spike couldn’t think about that at the moment and just grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the club. He just hoped that she wouldn’t be too mad at him.


* * * * *


I'm hoping you guys are still interested in this. I'm sorry if the last chapter was so bad, but I wasn't having a good day and that was the best I could come up with. I'm also thinking that maybe making Harmony nicer wasn't the best thing to do. I have a feeling you all liked it better when she was a bitch. I admit that I did, too, but it would have been really annoying for me to keep her like that. She would have kept getting in the way of the Spuffy and I thought people would have been happier if I got her out of the way. Oh well, nothing can be done about it now. I still like where I'm going with this and I don't plan on quitting anytime soon. Until I really have no more ideas. Don't forget to comment on this chapter, it's another one that I'm not really sure about. Thanks to those that always review me. Your comments are much appreciated=)

Chapter 17

They were both quiet when they reached Spike’s house. They entered the kitchen and Spike sat down, while Buffy went over to the freezer.

He was really worried about the fact that she had yet to say anything to him.

Buffy got out the icepack and walked over to him. “For your hand,” she said and handed it to him.

His hand wasn’t hurting that much, but he took it from her anyway.

She sat down next to him and avoided his gaze.

Spike couldn’t take it anymore and put the icepack down. “Buffy, please look at me. I’m sorry about what happened. I never meant to scare you.”

Buffy finally looked at him. “You were only sticking up for me. It did get a little scary. I’ve never seen you like that before.”

Spike sighed and knew that he had to make it better. “I’m not usually like that. I was just upset at what that bloke said about you. You do know I would never hurt you, right?”

Buffy shrugged and averted her eyes again, but he wouldn’t let her this time.

He gently grabbed her chin and turned her eyes back on his. “I would never lay a finger on you, Buffy. You have to believe that.”

Buffy felt tears start to cloud her vision. She decided that now was the time to tell him what she never told anyone before. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before she spoke. “Do you know anything about what happened with my dad?”

Spike wondered where that came from all of a sudden. “I don't know much, your family never seems to talk about him.”

Buffy shook her head and took another breath to calm herself. “There’s a reason for that. It hurts too much to talk about him.”

Spike could tell that this was hard for her and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “What happened?” he wondered with concern.

“It was before you and Giles moved here. My dad was an alcoholic, drinking was his answer to everything basically. He got frustrated a lot and would always take it out on my mom. They were constantly fighting and sometimes he...he would hit her. Dawn and I would always go to Harmony’s room when they were yelling downstairs. We were closer to Harmony then. She would always tell us that everything would be okay, but it was hard to believe that. My mom ended up with a lot of bruises and she would tell us that she fell down, but we knew the truth. She finally woke us up one night when Dad was out and told us to pack a bag. We were going to leave that night, but he came home early and got really mad at Mom. He told her that he would never let us go and then he punched her hard in the face, right in front of us. That was the first time we witnessed it. Harmony and I went to Mom’s side to see if she was okay, but Dawn went over to our father instead. She kicked him in the leg and he got so mad that he slapped her across the face. That was the first time he ever laid a hand on any of us. Mom freaked when she saw that. She was okay with him hitting her, but she never wanted us to get hurt. So, she yelled at him and told him to leave. He looked like he was upset after he hit Dawn and actually listened to her for once. He walked out of the house and Mom called the police.” She stopped to look at the reaction on Spike’s face.

He was angry as he took it all in. “The bastard did that? Where the hell is he now?”

She flinched at the tone of his voice.

Spike felt like an idiot for scaring her again. “I’m sorry, baby. What else happened?” he asked in a calmer tone.

Buffy took another breath before she continued. “He was really drunk when he left and we figured that he wouldn’t get too far. The police showed up a little while later to tell us about a car accident a few minutes from our house. They identified his car and it looked like he lost control and crashed into a tree. He wasn’t even wearing his seatbelt and went through the windshield. He was killed instantly.”

Spike was shocked at everything she told him. He never knew that she lived with that for all these years. It made him want to protect her even more. He then wrapped his arms around her.

She buried her head in his chest.

“I’m so sorry, Buffy. I’m sorry that you had to go through that. I’m just glad that you decided to tell me.”

She pulled away after a moment to look at him. “I never told anyone that before. We like to pretend that it never happened and get on with our lives. No one talks about it around here anymore.”

Spike felt touched knowing that he was the only person she told, but she wasn’t finished yet.

“I told myself that I would never be in that situation. I saw everything my mom had to deal with and I swore that I would never go through that. I would never be with anyone that would hurt me.”

Spike now understood and felt like an even bigger idiot. “I love you, Buffy. I would never hurt you. I have never hurt a woman in my whole life and I never will. I should have walked away when you wanted to, but I couldn’t let some wanker talk about you like that. I promise it won’t happen again. You never have to be afraid of me.”

Buffy gazed into his eyes to see how sincere he was. “I know I don’t. I would trust you with my life.”

Spike smiled and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, then pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. “I will always be here for you,” he whispered.

Buffy closed her eyes. It felt like a huge weight had finally been lifted off of her shoulders. She knew Spike was a good man and that he never said anything he didn’t mean. He would always be there for her, no matter what. That was a very comforting thought.

Chapter 18

“Would you stop moving like that? You’re gonna lose the whole effect of the outfit,” Harmony complained as she held her sister still.

“This just isn’t me.”

Harmony rolled her eyes. “That’s the idea, Buffy. I should have messed with your wardrobe years ago. How can you not own any skimpy leather? That’s just not natural,” she stated and pulled away to give Buffy a look. “Yep, you almost look as good as I do in that outfit. Spike is gonna freak when he sees you.”

Buffy sighed and continued to stare at herself in the mirror. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Are you sure it’s not too much?” she wondered and tried to pull the leather skirt down that Harmony let her borrow, but it wasn’t working very well. She didn’t understand how her sister could wear something so short and tight. It was practically showing her underwear that Harmony suggested Buffy shouldn’t even bother with, but there was just so much she would tolerate. She was wearing a red, halter top and planned on putting her leather jacket on over it. Her hair was down in loose curls. She had to admit that she looked good, figuring that a change wouldn’t hurt. It was only for her date with Spike, anyway. She still didn’t know where they were going and hoped that the clothes would be okay.

“Holy crap, you’ve turned her into you.”

Buffy was pulled out of her thoughts at Dawn’s voice.

“I think this is a major improvement. Your clothes could use a little help, too.”

Dawn had a look of fear on her face. “You won’t be coming anywhere near my closet, Barbie. I happen to like my style, thank you very much.”

Buffy rolled her eyes and tried to tune her sisters out. They may have all been a little better towards each other lately, but Harmony and Dawn would still constantly fight about stupid things. Buffy then felt nervous when she heard the doorbell ring and knew it was Spike. She took a deep breath and left the room, heading downstairs.

Both girls watched her go in trepidation.

Dawn took another good look at the outfit that Buffy was wearing. “Can I borrow that skirt?”

Harmony grinned. “I knew you would come around,” she said and secretly hoped that Spike would like her sister’s transformation.


* * * * *


“Bloody hell,” Spike commented, his eyes perusing her body in wonder.

“Is that good or bad?”

Spike licked his lips. “It’s definitely good. You look amazing, love. What’s with the sudden change?”

Buffy grabbed her jacket and made her way out of the house, closing the door behind her. She shrugged and got into his car. “I just wanted to try something different. Harmony talked me into it.”

Spike rolled his eyes and got in on his side, then started the car up and pulled out of the driveway. “I should have known. You look great, but you don’t have to change who you are. You would look gorgeous in anything, including the sweats that you always wear. You didn’t have to change to impress me.”

Buffy shook her head. “I actually think I did it for me. I’ve always been plain and I wanted to be sexy for once. You may have thought I always was, but I never did. I never looked into the mirror and thought I was pretty, but I actually did today for the first time ever. It felt really nice. I’m not saying that I’m going to make a habit of it, but one night couldn’t hurt.”

He smiled and grasped her hand, placing a kiss on the back of it. “No, it doesn’t. You may be dressed a little too fancy for where we’re going, though.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows. “How is this fancy? I would say slutty, not fancy.”

Spike glanced at her when he stopped at a red light. “You’ll just have to wait and see, and there’s nothing slutty about you.”

Buffy pouted at the first part, but found herself smiling at the second. She always hated surprises, but was positive that Spike wouldn’t disappoint.


* * * * *


“I can’t believe you did this,” Buffy said when they finally arrived at their destination. Spike brought her to a farm a little out of Sunnydale, where she could see a lot of animals running around. It reminded her of the farm where her grandfather lived. She used to always visit there when she was younger.

“You do still like horses, right?”

Buffy nodded and looked around the place once she got out of the car. “Yeah, ever since I was a little girl. I used to love riding horses.”

Spike nodded as well and pulled her over to the stables. “I know, you told me.”

She was about to respond, when she noticed a young woman brushing a horse.

The woman noticed them and a smile graced her lips. “Spike, it’s great to see you again,” she said, giving him a hug.

“Same to you, love,” he replied and pulled out of the embrace after a moment, then turned back to Buffy. “This is, Tara. She’s a friend. Tara, this is Buffy,” he introduced them.

Buffy gave her a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Tara nodded and smiled in return. “Likewise, Spike has told me a lot about you.”

Buffy wasn’t expecting that and stared at Spike.

“I’ve been coming up here a lot.”

She nodded and accepted his answer.

Tara focused back on the horse that she was brushing earlier. “Well, this one is ready if you want to take him for a run. I would be careful, though. He loves to go fast.”

Buffy smiled and moved closer to the horse, running her fingers through his mane.

He nuzzled her hand with his nose.

Buffy giggled and glanced back at Tara. “What’s his name?” she asked, turning her concentration back on the horse.

“We call him Lightning, but don’t let that scare you. He’s really very gentle.”

Spike smiled and watched Buffy get acquainted with Lightning. He knew that she would love it there.

“Hey, boy. You’re really very handsome, you know that?” she said to the horse and was rewarded when he nuzzled her hand again. “I could really ride him?” she asked Tara, who only nodded.

Buffy’s smile faded when she realized something. “Yeah, I really shouldn’t have worn this,” she said and looked down at her outfit, deciding that it wouldn’t be very easy to ride a horse in a leather skirt.

Tara waved her hand in the air like it was no problem. “Don’t worry; I have some comfortable pants you can change into. I’ll be right back,” she explained, then walked away.

Buffy gazed at Spike. “I really like her. How do you two know each other?”

He had a feeling she would ask that. “We dated for a little while last year. It didn’t really work out.”

Buffy was surprised that Tara was one of his ex-girlfriends. “Why didn’t it work out?” she wondered.

“Tara’s a great girl and we really had fun together, but we just had different interests. Okay, let me rephrase that. We had one very similar interest.”

Buffy didn’t understand how that was a good enough reason to break up with someone. “What would that be?”

He gave her a smile. “We both like women.”

Buffy’s eyes widened. “Oh, well that would do it. When did she find out?”

Spike shrugged and started to pet Lightning as a distraction. “I’m not sure; it was probably when she realized that she wasn’t really attracted to me. Normally I would take offense to that, but when she told me that she was a lesbian, I started to fantasize about her with another woman. It all seemed better after that.” He laughed when Buffy hit him on the arm.

“You’re such a guy,” she claimed, wrinkling her nose at his comment.

“Well, that is one of my many good qualities.”

Buffy rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face.

Tara then came back out and saw the humor in their eyes. “Did I miss something?”

Buffy shook her head. “Nope, just Spike being a perv.”

Tara nodded in understanding. “That’s definitely nothing new. I wish you luck with him.”

Spike felt a little hurt.

Buffy just smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek to ease his feelings.

Tara handed her the pants that she went to retrieve.

Buffy took them and made sure that Spike’s back was turned when she changed. He was complaining about it being nothing that he hasn’t seen before, but Buffy wasn’t having it.

Tara grinned at their banter. She could see the obvious love the two shared for each other and felt pleased that Spike found someone. He was a good guy and he really deserved it. Tara just wished that she could be that lucky. She still hoped that there was someone out there for her. Maybe she would find her one day.

Chapter 19

Buffy entered the house that night after Spike dropped her off, not able to keep the smile off of her face. She had so much fun riding a horse again. She always felt so free when she was riding. Buffy walked into the living room and stopped suddenly at the sight in front of her.

“What’s going on?”

Dawn pulled away with a start. “I didn’t think you would come home until later.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t mean you’re allowed to make out with your boyfriend on the couch. Where’s Mom? You’re not supposed to be alone with a guy in the house.”

Dawn rolled her eyes as well. “Mom had to go to the gallery. You worry too much; it’s not like we were really doing anything.”

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the boy next to Dawn, who had yet to say anything. “I think you should go home now, Connor.”

He nodded and got off of the couch, heading to the front door. He trailed his eyes over Buffy’s body when he passed her. “Nice outfit, Buffy. You look hot,” he told her with a smile.

Buffy was trying not to laugh. “Get out of here, you little perv.”

Dawn then stood up and marched over to him. “I can’t believe you were hitting on my sister right in front of me.”

Connor shrugged. “I was only giving her a compliment. You need to lighten up sometimes, babe. Are you pmsing again?”

Dawn was outraged. “I can’t believe you just said that to me. God, you’re such a jerk.”

Connor grinned and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Love you, too. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he claimed, opening the door and walking out of the house.

“Yeah, you better!” she called after him, then shut the door.

Buffy laughed and headed upstairs. Dawn has been seeing Connor for about two years now, but they’ve practically known each other since they were in diapers. They would constantly have stupid arguments, but Buffy knew they really loved each other. She always thought of Connor as a brother, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a perv at times. Boys will be boys, after all. Buffy got to her room and closed the door. She would just be grateful to have some peace and quiet, or so she thought. Buffy squealed when someone grabbed her from behind and turned her around. She was ready to yell at Spike for scaring her, until his lips found hers in a passionate kiss. She pulled away and tried to look mad at him. “What are you doing in here?”

He shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I came in through the window. Didn’t feel like going home just yet.”

“You know, you’re really not supposed to be in here. My mom could come home any minute now,” she said and knew that her mother probably wouldn’t be home for a few more hours.

“She’ll never have to know,” he replied and started to trail kisses down her neck.

Buffy moaned and tried to stay focused on the conversation. “Dawn’s still here,” she stated softly.

Spike didn’t pull away as he answered her. “We can be very quiet,” he whispered in her ear.

Buffy knew that she was lost.

Spike picked her up and moved over to her bed.


* * * * *


Harmony walked into the house and took her coat off. She was hanging at the mall again and it was extremely crazy around this time of year, Christmas only being a few weeks away. She then headed upstairs to find Dawn outside Buffy’s room.

“What are you doing?”

Dawn turned to look at her. “Buffy’s in there with Spike. It’s pretty obvious what they’re doing. I can’t believe she complained about me being alone with Connor and she has him in her room.”

Harmony smiled and moved over to Buffy’s door. She heard the moans going on inside. “I have never been more proud of her.”

Dawn rolled her eyes, when they both suddenly heard the front door open.

“Crap, Mom’s home. We have to get him out of there.”

Harmony nodded. “Yeah, you handle that. I’ll go stall.”

Dawn watched her sister go back downstairs, then knocked on Buffy’s door. “I hate to interrupt the sexfest, but Mom’s home early,” she said, trying not to be so loud. She then heard shuffling going on inside the room and opened the door a few seconds later to find that it was unlocked. It looked like Buffy and Spike just finished putting their clothes back on. She was just relieved to not see anything that would possibly scar her for life.

“Where is she?” Buffy wondered.

“Harmony’s gonna stall, but I don’t know how good she is at that. You need to get him out of here.”

Buffy nodded and turned back to Spike. “Okay, out you go.” She pushed him over to the window. “Be careful going down. I don’t want a broken boyfriend.”

Spike smiled and gave her a kiss on the lips, then climbed down the tree outside her window and took off running once he reached the ground.

Buffy glanced back at Dawn. “Thank you,” she claimed.

Dawn nodded. “You so owe me. At least I wasn’t having sex with Connor.”

Buffy didn’t get a chance to respond as Joyce then made her presence known in the doorway.

“What are you two up to? It looked like Harmony was trying to keep me from something.”

They both exchanged looks and didn’t know what to say.

“We were wrapping your Christmas present. We didn’t want you to see what it was,” Dawn suddenly said.

Buffy nodded in agreement.

Joyce looked at both of her daughters and wasn’t sure if she believed them, but nodded anyway. “All right, you should get ready for bed,” she told them before walking away.

They let out a sigh of relief.

Harmony then came into the room. “That was a close one.”

Buffy couldn’t believe what just happened. She never planned on sleeping with Spike in her room. She didn’t seem to have any control when he was around. She couldn’t help thinking that she forgot about something, though. Harmony and Dawn were talking about stuff that Buffy was tuning out at the moment. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was that she forgot. “Oh god,” she gasped out.

Harmony and Dawn stopped talking to look at her.

“What’s wrong?” Dawn asked, worried by the expression on her sister’s face.

Buffy stared at both of them and took a deep breath before she spoke again. “We forgot to use a condom.”

“Oh, well I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s probably nothing to worry about,” Dawn commented to try and make Buffy feel better.

Harmony silently agreed, not sure what to say to that.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Buffy replied with a forced smile, which faded when both of her sisters left the room. Her mother talked about her going on the pill and it sounded like a really good idea right about now. She really hoped there was nothing to worry about.

Chapter 20

Buffy ran into Dawn’s room, with a huge smile plastered on her face.

“I’m not pregnant,” she said excitedly.

Dawn was glad to hear that as well. “Really?” she wondered.

Buffy nodded. “I have never been so happy to get my period.” She knew that a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She had been worried for days about the fact that she could be pregnant, but was so relieved to realize that she wasn’t. Buffy did want kids, but definitely not when she was still in high school. Now, she could finally enjoy the holidays without being worried about a baby. Her and Spike would have to be a lot more careful from now on. Buffy didn’t tell him about the possibility of her getting pregnant. She figured there was no use worrying him unless she knew for sure. Speaking of Spike, she wondered where he was. She hadn’t seen much of him the last week and hoped that everything was okay.


* * * * *


“So, are we doing anything this weekend?” Buffy asked her boyfriend when she finally saw him the next day.

He only shook his head. “I can’t this weekend. I have a whole lot of school work to do. I’ve been neglecting my studies recently.”

Buffy had a feeling that he was keeping something from her. Spike would never choose to study over spending time with her. She knew that school was important, but he hadn’t been around much the last few nights and she was starting to get lonely without him. “Maybe we can just go to a movie or something. That shouldn’t take so long. Come on, Spike. I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while, one movie couldn’t hurt.”

Spike didn’t look like he would be agreeing with her. “I said I can’t, all right? Just leave it, Buffy. I have things to do. We can do something next week.”

Buffy flinched at the tone of his voice and was really getting worried now. “Are you okay?”

Spike sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He then wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m sorry, baby. I just really have to get my work done. I’ll be spending most of the day at the library tomorrow. I just don’t have time for anything else right now. I promise I’ll make it up to you.” He pulled away and gave her a pout.

She smiled and couldn’t resist when he did that. “Okay, we can do it another time.”

Spike smiled in return and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “I won’t be home until pretty late tonight. I promised I would help Xander with something,” he explained, giving her one more kiss before leaving her house.

Buffy watched him go and still couldn’t help feeling that something was wrong.


* * * * *


“I know what you’ve been doing.”

Spike stopped at the sound of Harmony’s voice. “Were you waiting for me to leave?”

She shrugged and moved closer to him. “I couldn’t talk to you with Buffy around. I saw you the other day, Spike. Do you really think you can keep this from her?”

Spike clenched his fists at his side and had to keep reminding himself that it was wrong to hit a woman. “You can’t tell her. I’m not ready for her to know yet,” he said in an almost pleading voice.

“I won’t be telling her, you will. She has a right to know why her boyfriend has been lying to her. Buffy’s not stupid, she’ll figure it out. It would probably be better if she found out from you.”

Spike knew she was right and hated to think that. He couldn’t believe how much Harmony had changed in only a few days. “I will tell her, I just need some time. This is nothing I’m really proud of.”

Harmony nodded and accepted his answer.

“I have to go,” Spike told her and walked away, heading to his destination. He was going to be late now.


* * * * *


Buffy walked to Xander’s apartment and knocked on the door. It wasn’t like she was checking up on Spike. She trusted him completely, but he had been acting a little weird lately. She just wanted to make sure everything was okay, and maybe Xander knew something that she didn’t. Buffy knocked again and there was still no answer. She then turned the doorknob to find that it was unlocked, so she entered the apartment and looked around. She finally heard something that came from the bedroom and went to check it out. She realized that the door wasn’t closed all the way and really was not prepared for the sight in front of her.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry,” she said quickly and clapped her hands over her eyes.

Xander was startled when he noticed her there and covered himself up, along with the girl in bed next to him. “Buffy, what are you doing here?”

She shook her head. “I knocked, but there was no answer. Sorry, I shouldn’t have come in.”

“That’s okay; you can look now. We’re not completely decent, but I promise you won’t be scarred for life.”

“I think it’s a little too late for that,” she mumbled and finally removed her hands, relieved to see both of them covered. “I’m really sorry,” she said again.

“It’s not a problem. It was my fault; I should have locked the door. This is Anya, my girlfriend. We met about a month ago. This is Buffy, she’s dating Spike,” he claimed, making the introductions.

Buffy smiled at the other woman. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Anya nodded and looked back at Xander. “Is she going to be here long? You promised me more orgasms.”

Xander blushed at his girlfriend’s bluntness that he still wasn’t used to.

Buffy was just shocked and didn’t know what else to say.

He then got up to get dressed.

Buffy turned around, so she wouldn’t see anymore of his nakedness.

Xander glanced at Anya after putting his clothes on and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back in a second.”

She didn’t look pleased, but nodded anyway.

Xander walked out of his room.

Buffy moved out of the way.

He shut the door and turned his attention on her. “So, what can I help you with?”

Buffy tried to forget what she just saw and got to the reason of why she was there. “I was just looking for Spike. I thought he was here.”

Xander seemed to be confused and shook his head. “I haven’t seen Spike in a couple of days. Why did you think he was here?”

Buffy didn’t know what to think now. “He told me that he would be here. Maybe I heard him wrong.”

Xander nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s probably it.”

Buffy gave him a small smile. “Sorry again for walking in on you. I’ll just be going now,” she said, then headed out of the apartment. She was beyond worried at this point. It was one thing for Spike to be acting weird, but something had to be really wrong if he would lie to her. Buffy just wished that she knew what it was.

Chapter 21

“I know something’s wrong, Will. Spike wouldn’t just lie to me like that.”

Willow didn’t know what to tell her. “I’m sure he has a good reason.”

Buffy shook her head. “He’s doing something that he doesn’t want me to know about.” She thought about what he could possibly be up to. Her eyes widened as she looked at Willow. “You don’t think he’s seeing someone else, do you?” she asked worriedly.

Willow didn’t even hesitate before answering. “Of course not, there’s no way he would do that. Spike’s crazy about you, Buffy. Anyone can see that.”

Buffy started to feel tears in her eyes. She really wished she could believe that, but couldn’t be sure as of late. “How else would you explain it? I thought we were happy, but I don’t even know anymore. He’s been really secretive lately. Why would he act like that if there wasn’t someone else?”

Willow shrugged and really wished she could make her friend feel better, but she didn’t know how. Buffy would be devastated if Spike was involved with someone else. She didn’t want that for her friend and really hoped that it wasn’t true.

Buffy sat down on her bed.

Willow could clearly see the tears spilling from her eyes now.

“Maybe he’s finally decided that he wants someone older. Maybe I’m not good enough anymore.” Her voice trailed off and she buried her face in her hands.

Willow went to her side and rubbed her back in comfort. “It’ll be okay, Buffy. I’m sure of it.”

Buffy raised her head after a few seconds. “I love him so much, Will. I can’t lose him now. He’s all I have,” she whispered as the tears continued to fall.

Willow wrapped her arms around Buffy and let her cry on her shoulder. Her heart breaking for her best friend.


* * * * *


“I can’t believe that’s what he’s been up to. Buffy has no idea?”

Harmony shook her head after she finished telling Dawn about what she knew. She had to tell someone, after all. “He’s not ready for her to know. I think it’s really stupid if you ask me. He should just tell her and get it over with. Lying to her will only make things worse.”

Dawn agreed and still couldn’t believe that her sister was actually being helpful. “So, what do we do?”

A smile lit up Harmony’s face. “I think all three of us should take a trip to the mall. Spike would never expect it.”

Dawn smiled as well and had to agree with her again.

It was about time Buffy knew the truth.


* * * * *


“Guys, I really don’t feel like shopping right now,” Buffy told her sisters as they all entered the Sunnydale Mall later that day.

“Okay, you are so not normal. How could you not feel like shopping?” Harmony wondered in shock.

Buffy rolled her eyes.

“I think it’s a good idea, Buffy. It’ll help you take your mind off of whatever’s bothering you,” Dawn said.

Buffy let out a sigh. “Fine, but I don’t have to enjoy myself. I guess I should get started on my Christmas shopping.”

They agreed and headed to the center of the mall, where they were sure to find a certain bleached blond.


* * * * *


Buffy sighed for the millionth time as her sisters continued to stop at a bunch of stores that had no interest to her. Harmony just had to look in Victoria’s Secret and she was trying on a few of the lingerie there. Buffy was looking at all of the clothes around her that she would never be caught dead in. Dawn was browsing in the music store and Buffy just wanted to be anywhere else.

“All right, we can go now. Unless there’s anything you’re interested in,” Harmony commented with a grin.

Buffy had a disgusted look on her face. “A world of no.”

Harmony shrugged and put back the lacy thong that she was holding. “Suit yourself, but I’m sure Spike would love it.”

Buffy tried not to cry at the mention of her boyfriend. She hoped that he was still her boyfriend, anyway. “I just want to get out of here,” she said and walked out of the store.

Harmony sighed and followed after her.

They both soon found Dawn outside the pet store and staring in the window, knowing how she could be around animals.

She smiled at them when they walked over. “They are so cute. We really need to talk Mom into getting a puppy.”

Harmony rolled her eyes.

Buffy had to smile at her younger sister’s excitement. “I don’t think she would go for that, Dawny. You remember the hamster incident?”

Dawn looked ashamed. “That was an accident. I was eight then, I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Besides, a dog is too big to fit in the vacuum cleaner.”

Buffy shook her head and put her arm around Dawn, turning back to the puppies in the window. “Do you remember Miss Kitty Fantastico?”

Dawn paled at that and pulled away from her sister. “Okay, shut up,” she mumbled.

Buffy figured that she proved her point. “I just don’t think we could risk a puppy.”

Dawn rolled her eyes now and knew that her sisters would never let her forget how bad she was with pets. She was just a kid then. She was allowed to make mistakes.

Harmony just wanted to get away from the smell of the animals. “We know they’re cute, but we really should get going now.”

Dawn nodded as she let Buffy pull her away from the dogs.

They finally headed to their last stop and knew that Buffy would get a surprise.


* * * * *


“Aren’t we a little old to see Santa?” Buffy asked later as they waited in line to see the jolly man himself.

Dawn shook her head. “You’re never too old for Santa. Trust us, Buffy. It will definitely be worth it.”

Buffy didn’t know what she was talking about. She just shrugged and watched as the little kids sat on Santa’s lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas.

There was finally one more little girl in front of them and Buffy rolled her eyes as the child told Santa what she wanted. Basically she wanted everything from a toy car to a pony. Buffy was just glad that she was never that spoiled. The only thing she ever asked Santa for in the past was one of those dolls that looked and felt like a real baby. She always liked to play house and dreamt about the family she would have when she was older. Buffy sighed at the memory, then came back to reality when it was their turn to go up. She stopped suddenly when she got a good look at Santa.

His eyes bulged as he seemed to recognize her as well.

Buffy would know those blue eyes anywhere.

He looked even paler as she said the word that he dreaded.

“Spike?”

Chapter 22

Buffy didn’t know what to think as she stared at Spike in a Santa Claus outfit.

He spoke to the boy in the elf costume next to him and said that he would be taking an early break. He then walked over to Buffy and pulled her away, so they could have some privacy. “What are you doing here?”

Buffy finally spoke after a few seconds. “I should be asking you the same question, but I guess it’s obvious what you’re doing here. Is this why you’ve been acting all weird?”

Spike took his Santa hat off and ran his fingers through his hair, then removed the beard.

Buffy once again thought about how cute he looked in the outfit. Red definitely looked good on him.

“I needed a part-time job and this was the only thing I could get.”

Buffy nodded, but there was something she still didn’t understand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged and thought about why he didn’t tell her. “I guess I was embarrassed. I was going to tell you, I just never found the right time. I didn’t want you to see me like this.”

Buffy was just really relieved to find out that Spike wasn’t cheating on her. She should have known that he would never do that. “Spike, you didn’t have to be embarrassed. You could have told me. I mean, you look really good in that outfit. Do you get to keep it?”

Spike laughed and rolled his eyes. “No, but I’m really glad you’re okay with this. I just didn’t have any money for gifts this year and I wanted to get you something special. The good news is that I’ll only have to keep at this for a few more weeks. It’s bloody hot in this thing.”

Buffy smiled and gave him a peck on the lips. “You still look incredibly sexy.”

Spike wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a longer snog.

A throat being cleared forced them to break the kiss.

Spike pulled away to look at the irritated elf behind him. He sighed and turned back to Buffy. “I should get back to work now. I’ll see you later, love.”

Buffy nodded and gave him one more kiss. “Yeah, I’ll tell you what I want then,” she said with a smile.

“Will you sit on my lap?” he responded, leering at her.

Her smile grew even bigger. “You can count on that,” she replied with a wave, then went to find her sisters.

Spike watched her go and turned back to the elf, who couldn’t stop staring at her backside.

“Dude, your girlfriend’s hot.”

Spike glared at the man. “Eyes off, mate.”

He raised his hands in surrender.

Spike only rolled his eyes and got back to work. He couldn’t wait for the day to be over.


* * * * *


“So, that’s what you guys wanted to show me? You could have just told me instead of making me come here.”

Dawn nodded. “Yes, but this way was much more fun.”

Harmony didn’t even seem to be paying attention to them. She was looking off in the distance. “Does anyone else agree that Spike looks damn good dressed like Santa?” she said and noticed the expressions on both of their faces. “I’m just saying. Don’t worry, I’m totally over him. He’s not really my type, anyway.”

Dawn rolled her eyes.

Buffy didn’t have anything to say to that.

Harmony’s attention then focused on something else.

Buffy turned to see what her sister was staring at and saw Cordelia Chase. She guessed that things still weren’t good between them. They had been friends practically since the beginning of high school. It was weird not seeing them together all the time.

Harmony took a deep breath when the brunette headed in their direction.

She stood in front of them and looked like she didn’t know what to say. “Hey,” was all she managed to get out.

Harmony was just glad that she said something. “Hey, how are things going?”

Cordelia shrugged. “Not so great. I’m not with Angel anymore.”

Harmony felt even worse for her actions. “I’m really sorry. I hope you guys didn’t break up because of me. It didn’t mean anything.”

Cordelia let out a sigh. “It wasn’t because of you. Things just haven’t been working out with us lately. I told myself that he would change, but it doesn’t look like that will be happening. He didn’t just sleep with you. I found out that he has been cheating on me with Darla Thompson for a few months now. I couldn’t be with him anymore after that. She’s a major whore, there’s no telling what diseases I would get.”

Harmony was shocked and had no idea. “I’m sorry, he was a jerk anyway. You deserve better than that, Cordy.”

Cordelia gave a small smile and realized that she missed her friend. “Thanks, you wanna get out of here? I would suddenly rather be elsewhere.”

Harmony thought about it and then looked at both of her sisters, who have been quiet since the other girl walked over to them. “I’m with my sisters right now. We had more shopping to do.”

Buffy and Dawn were stunned that Harmony would rather spend time with them instead of Cordelia.

“That’s fine; could I hang with you guys then?” she wondered.

They all nodded.

Cordelia smiled as they started to walk away in silence. She spoke again a few seconds later. “Did you guys check out that Santa? You can tell he has a nice ass under all those clothes. I wonder who it is.”

Buffy and Dawn tried not to laugh.

Harmony grinned at her friend. “That ass belongs to Buffy,” she said and gave her sister a wink.

Cordelia was confused. “Okay, I have a feeling I missed something here.”

They nodded again as they continued their shopping.


* * * * *


“Damn, I never knew Santa was so hot.”

Spike turned around at the familiar voice that he hadn’t heard in a while. He was finally ready to go home when she appeared. “Faith?” he said in astonishment.

She gave him a huge smile. “What? You don’t have a hug for your old girlfriend?”

Spike returned her smile and went to do just that. He lifted her off of the ground a little in the process.

She laughed at his antics.

Spike then put her down and still couldn’t believe that she was there. He hadn’t seen her since he left England all those years ago. “What are you doing here?”

Faith shrugged and pulled on his beard. “I figured I would look you up; see what you’ve been doing. Besides, London was starting to bore me. I see you’re doing pretty well,” she said, looking him up and down. “I’m not even gonna ask.”

Spike was grateful for that. “How did you know where I was?” he wondered and got a good look at her. She still looked the same as he remembered, not much for change.

“I stopped by your house and Giles was kind enough to let me know. So, you happy to see me?”

Spike wrapped his arms around her again and nodded. “You have no idea,” he whispered and couldn’t remember ever being so happy to see anyone. He knew Faith since childhood and they were always so close. He didn’t realize how much he missed her, until now. They still kept in touch, but it wasn’t the same. Spike then grabbed her hand and walked out of the mall. They had a lot of catching up to do.

Chapter 23

“Thanks for letting me stay here, Giles.”

He smiled. “Of course, you’re always welcome. I know William is very happy to see you again.”

Faith returned his smile and waited for Spike to come back. She never realized how much she missed her old best friend. Things haven’t been the same without him. They have been close since they were kids and Spike was always there for her. They started going out when they were older and he was her first real love, but it never would have worked out. She was brought out of her thoughts when the back door opened and Spike finally walked in. He was followed by a blonde girl that Faith didn’t recognize.

“Dad, make her stop. She keeps making Santa jokes,” he whined childishly.

Giles rolled his eyes.

“You’re such a baby,” Buffy told him.

He stuck his tongue out at her, which just proved her point.

She laughed and then stopped when she noticed the brunette sitting there. “Sorry, I didn’t know you had company.”

Spike smiled and introduced his two favorite girls. “Buffy, this is Faith. She was my girlfriend in England. Faith, this is Buffy. My current girlfriend.”

Buffy smiled at the dark haired girl. She didn’t plan on meeting another one of Spike’s ex-girlfriend’s, and this one was a lot different than Tara. She looked to be more his type, but wasn’t going to let that thought bother her. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said in a friendly tone.

Faith nodded. “Likewise, B,” she replied and took time to notice the petite blonde. She was definitely not someone Spike would have dated before, but maybe she would be good for him.


* * * * *


Buffy left about an hour later. She spent that time talking with Faith and getting to know her better.

It was late and Giles already headed up to bed.

Spike was talking with Faith in the guestroom, where she would be staying.

“So, you really like it here?” she wondered after a minute of silence.

“Yeah, this place has its moments.”

Faith nodded as a smirk formed on her lips. “You and Blondie pretty serious?”

Spike knew it was only a matter of time before she started asking about Buffy. “Yes, we’re pretty serious. I love her.”

Faith took on a look of surprise now. “I guess it is serious, then. Well, I’m happy for you. She seems pretty cool. Damn hot, too,” she responded with a wink.

Spike rolled his eyes. “Can you not hit on my girlfriend? There’s just something really wrong about that.”

Faith held up her hands. “I’m only saying that she’s hot.”

Spike sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He loved Faith, but sometimes she was a bit much. “You know, I’m starting to wonder if something is wrong with me. My last two girlfriends both turned out to be lesbians. That just can’t be natural.”

Faith laughed and remembered him telling her about Tara last year. She loved to tease him about being the only guy she knew that could turn two girls against the opposite sex, but it was obviously a sensitive subject for him. It was still funny, though. “It could only happen to you, Will.”

He rolled his eyes again. She was the only one that ever got away with calling him that.

“I wonder if Buffy is really gay and just doesn’t know it yet.”

Spike then grabbed a pillow off of the bed and hit her with it.

She only burst into laughter.

“Don’t even joke about that.”

Faith calmed down long enough to answer him. “I couldn’t resist. Don’t worry, I can tell she’s straight. It’s obvious with the way she looks at you, like you’re the only guy in the world. It’s enough to make me wanna hurl.” This time, she was able to dodge the pillow.


* * * * *


“It’s not funny,” he said and waited for the laughter to stop.

Buffy cleared her throat. “Sorry, you’re right. I just can’t believe that happened to you twice,” she commented, then started to laugh again.

“I don’t even know why I told you,” he mumbled.

Buffy then felt bad and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry, Spike. I’m just relieved that I don’t have to be jealous of Faith. I know how important she is to you.”

Spike placed a quick kiss on her lips. “You definitely don’t have to be jealous. Even if she wasn’t into women, things wouldn’t have worked out with us. She’s too much like a sister.”

Buffy nodded and then had an idea. “You should invite Tara to come to the Bronze with us tonight. I would like to see her again.”

Spike raised his eyebrows. “You’re not planning on setting her up with Faith, are you?”

Buffy shrugged and moved away from him. “It’s just an idea, but I get how weird that would be for you.”

He shook his head. “No, I actually think that might work. They could both use someone right now.”

Buffy smiled and was glad that he liked her idea. “So, you’ll call her?”

Spike nodded. “I’ll call her, but it might be difficult to get her away from those horses. She sometimes prefers them over people.”

Buffy nodded as well. She could definitely understand that.

“I should get home before Faith eats all of the food in the house,” he said and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then walked out the back door.

Buffy watched him go and was about to head upstairs, but there was a sudden knock on the front door. She sighed and went to answer it, then was greeted by an energized red head.

“You are never going to believe what happened,” she claimed and barged into the house. “I just had to come over here and tell you. I could have called, but this deserved to be said in person.”

Buffy grabbed Willow’s shoulders to stop her rambling. “Will, just tell me what it is.”

Willow tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths. “Oz asked me out. I didn’t even think that he noticed me, but he actually called and asked me out. I don’t know how he got my number, but I don’t even care. I told him to meet me at the Bronze tonight. This is so cool, Buffy. I never thought this could happen to me. I’m never the girl that guys notice.”

Buffy had to smile at her friend’s excitement. “I’m really happy for you. He seems like a nice guy. Not much for talking, but that could be a good thing.”

Willow nodded in agreement. “I have to get ready. See you tonight,” she stated, then ran out of the house.

Another smile lit up Buffy’s face. It would be great if Willow found someone. She had a feeling that things would work out for her friend.


* * * * *


I just wanted to say sorry for those that wanted Willow and Tara together. There was nothing in this that said Willow was gay and I always thought she was cute with Oz. Not that I don't love her with Tara as well. I seem to have this habit of putting Tara and Faith together, I didn't even realize it. I guess I just really think that could work, but I might be the only one. It just seems cute to me. Thanks for the reviews, hope you guys liked the chapter=)

Chapter 24

Spike was at the Bronze and watched the two girls talk in the distance. He smiled when Buffy sat down next to him.

“So, things seem to be going well over there.”

Spike agreed and continued to watch them interact with each other. He thought it would feel weird to see both of his ex-girlfriends getting along so well, but it really didn’t. He was just happy that they liked each other.

They’ve been talking for about twenty minutes and even got some dancing in. Faith’s dancing was a bit different than Tara’s, but Faith was willing to teach her some moves. They caused a group of guys to form around them, but the girls only had eyes for each other.

Buffy’s attention moved to another area on the dance floor and a smile graced her lips. Willow and Oz also seemed to be getting along pretty well. Willow was laughing at something he said and her whole face lit up. Buffy couldn’t remember ever seeing her friend so happy before. She was glad that everyone was paired up.

Spike finally looked at Buffy after a few minutes. “Would you like to dance?” he wondered.

She nodded and let him lead her to the dance floor.

They wrapped their arms around each other and started to move to the slow song that was now playing.

Buffy glanced around to see all of the couples doing the same thing, some a little closer than others. She smiled and rested her head on Spike’s shoulder. She never thought that any of this would ever happen to her. She had an amazing boyfriend that she loved, and that actually loved her back. Things couldn’t possibly get any better than that.


* * * * *


“God, Spike. That feels so good. Right there, don’t stop,” she moaned out.

Spike continued to massage her shoulders. “You like that?” he whispered in her ear, which sent shivers down her spine.

“Yes, go a little lower.”

He was happy to oblige.

They were at his house because Giles had to go out of town again.

Buffy couldn’t get any privacy at her house.

He started to place soft kisses on her neck and ran his fingers all over her body.

Buffy giggled when he tickled her stomach. That was always her weakness. She was never able to keep a secret when she was younger. All anyone had to do was tickle her and she would spill her guts.

Spike then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down on his bed.

Buffy traced her fingers over his chest. “So, what do you want for Christmas?” she asked suddenly.

“I don’t need anything. I have everything I want right here,” he told her, planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Well, I should get you something.”

Spike nodded and ran his fingers through her hair. “I’m sure I’ll love whatever you decide to get.”

Buffy pressed a kiss to his lips. “Are you working at the mall this weekend?”

He nodded again. “I only have to on Saturday, but I’m all yours after that.”

She smiled and rested her head against his chest.

“I talked to Faith earlier today. She called me from the farm. It looks like the two of them really hit it off. She was even talking about staying there for a little while. That’s a relief; the bloody bint ate all of my hot pockets,” he said with a pout.

Buffy laughed. “Aww, you poor thing. You know you’re gonna miss her.”

Spike shrugged. “Maybe a little, but I’ll get more shower time now. She takes forever on just her hair. I don’t think I ever want to live with a woman again. It’s a bloody nightmare.”

Buffy knew the conversation was about to take a serious turn. “What about when we decide to live together?” she wondered softly.

Spike stared down at her. He raised her head, so she was looking at him. “You think about that?”

Buffy felt her cheeks heat up under his gaze, but she figured they needed to have this conversation. “I think about the future. I’m not saying anything has to happen right now, but I do hope that we would live together one day. Does that freak you out?”

Spike only gave her a soft smile and shook his head. “No, it doesn’t freak me out. I think about that, too.”

Buffy sighed in relief and rested her head back on his chest. She spoke again after a few seconds of silence. “I should really be studying for my test.”

Spike held her tighter. “I have more important studying for you to do,” he said huskily, then kissed her passionately on the lips.

All thoughts of studying went out of her head after that.


* * * * *


Buffy walked into school a little late the next day. She hoped the fifteen minutes of studying that she actually did would be enough. She would usually always get good grades, anyway. Buffy headed to her locker and smiled when she saw Willow there. She was talking with Oz and he walked away, leaving a big smile on her friend’s face.

“That must have been a really good conversation.”

Willow smiled even bigger. “He’s so great, Buffy. We’re going out this weekend, just the two of us. It would be my first official date. Yep, I’m dating now.”

Buffy laughed and opened her locker. “I’m really happy for you.” She stopped when she noticed a rose inside, attached with a note. She took it out and read the short message. I’m always thinking about you. She smiled and showed it to Willow.

“That was sweet of Spike.”

Buffy agreed and started to get the books that she would need for the day. The note wasn’t signed, but Spike was the only person it could have been from. She wondered when he managed to come to the school to leave it in her locker. Buffy didn’t worry about that and just thought about the sweet gesture. She would have to thank him later. She closed her locker and then walked to class with Willow, not knowing that she was being watched.

Chapter 25

Buffy smiled when she got to her house and found a small box at the front door. She picked it up and walked inside, not opening it until she reached her room. She sat on her bed and then opened the box to reveal a beautiful, silver necklace. Spike was just full of surprises. She put the necklace on and went over to her mirror to check it out. Buffy didn’t expect him to give her anything until Christmas, but she wasn’t about to turn away the gift. She’d have to be crazy to do that. She was brought out of her reverie when he suddenly entered her room.

“See, I used the door this time. Aren’t you proud of me?” he said with a smile.

She graced Spike with a smile of her own and went to hug him. “You are the sweetest guy in the whole world.”

Spike was confused as he returned the embrace. “If this is the response I get, I think I’ll continue to use the door from now on.”

Buffy kissed him on the lips. “Thanks for the necklace. It’s very beautiful.”

Spike grabbed Buffy’s shoulders gently and pushed her away, so he was looking into her eyes. “You lost me, love. That’s not from me,” he explained, pointing to the necklace that she was wearing. “I haven’t made enough to pay for your present yet.”

It was Buffy’s turn to be confused. “You didn’t leave this at the door?”

He shook his head. “If it was from me, I would have given it to you in person.”

Buffy then realized that the necklace didn’t come with a note. She figured Spike would have written something. “Wait, I found a rose in my locker today. You didn’t put it there?”

“I’m not going to return to a school that I don’t go to anymore to put a flower in your locker. Again, I would have done it in person.”

Buffy went into her backpack to take out the rose and note that she found in her locker earlier that day. “This was with it,” she stated, handing him the note.

Spike took it and read the message. He really wasn’t happy. “Who the bloody hell is this from?”

“I don’t know. I thought it was you.”

Spike calmed down when he noticed how scared Buffy looked. He threw the note away and wrapped his arms around her. “Do you know of anyone that it could be from?” he asked her in a softer tone.

Buffy shook her head. “I have no idea. I’m not exactly popular; I don’t know who could have given me this.” She took the necklace off and placed it back in the box, not wanting anything to do with it anymore. “I’m scared, Spike. This person has obviously been following me around. They knew how to get into my locker, and they know where I live.”

Spike felt even angrier and held her tighter. “If I find out who it is, I’ll make him pay for ever laying eyes on you.”

Buffy took a deep breath and continued to let him hold her, neither knowing what to say after that.


* * * * *


“Not only are you dating the hottest guy ever, but you now have a secret admirer? You’re so lucky.”

Buffy shook her head. “This isn’t a good thing, Dawn. This guy has been following me. It’s just really creepy and I have no idea who it could be.”

Dawn didn’t really think about that.

Harmony decided to speak up. “Sounds like you have yourself a stalker. I had one before, so annoying. I felt all flattered and everything, but the poor guy just wouldn’t take the hint. Oh, maybe it’s the same guy. He probably realized he couldn’t get anywhere with me and decided to move on to my sister. God, how desperate will some people get?”

The other two girls stared at her.

“Not that he’d have to be desperate to want you or anything,” she said to try and make herself sound better.

Buffy just rolled her eyes, then turned back to Dawn. “What am I going to do? I’ll be constantly worrying about this at school now. I don’t want some guy to be watching my every move.” She sat down on her bed, once again hating the fact that Spike already graduated.

Dawn suddenly had an idea. “Maybe you could find someone else and pretend like you’re with him, so the creepy guy will back off. You’ll have to find a really big guy, though. Like someone on the football team.”

Harmony actually agreed with that suggestion.

Buffy would have laughed at that if she didn’t feel so terrified. “Yeah, like that’ll happen. I’m not exactly popular with the jocks. I would never lower myself to actually pretend to be with one of them, anyway. No, this is just something I’ll have to handle on my own. Maybe it’s not as bad as I think. I’m probably getting all worked up over nothing. We’ll soon be out of school for winter break and this whole thing will blow over. I’ll just ignore it. He’ll probably realize that I’m not interested and leave me alone,” she said more to herself than her sisters, really wishing she could believe that.


* * * * *


Buffy walked the halls of Sunnydale High the next day and tried not to feel afraid. She knew that she was making herself crazy and tried to put the supposed stalker out of her head. She was headed to her locker and not paying attention, when she bumped into a hard chest. She would have fallen down if it wasn’t for the strong arms that were now holding her up.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t see you.”

Buffy raised her head to gaze at him. He was tall and definitely not bad to look at, but she couldn’t seem to recognize him. She shook her head when she realized that he spoke. “Don’t worry about it, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

He gave her a warm smile, then let her arms go. “I guess that happens. I’m Riley Finn, I just moved here about a month ago. I still don’t know my way around that well. This is a bigger school than what I’m used to.”

Buffy nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I know the feeling. I’ve been here for almost three years now and still manage to get lost. I’m Buffy Summers, by the way.”

He nodded as well. “Right, I’ve seen you around.”

Buffy didn’t know why that statement suddenly made her nervous, but she just shook it off. “Well, I should really be getting to class now. Maybe we can talk again later?” she said and really wanted to be elsewhere at the moment. He seemed like a nice guy, but looks could always be deceiving. She was finding it hard to trust anyone right now.

“Yeah, count on it,” he replied with a friendly smile, then walked off in the other direction.

Buffy sighed in relief and continued the walk to her locker. She just really wanted the day to be over.

Chapter 26

Buffy left her last class and headed to her locker, suddenly stopping when she spotted Riley in the distance. She felt a rush of fear go through her, then turned and walked in the other direction. Buffy knew that she was probably just being paranoid, but didn’t want to take any chances. She went the long way to get to her locker and sighed in relief once she finally reached it. She really wanted to get home. Buffy opened the locker door and gulped when she saw another rose in there, and this one was already dead. Her hands were shaking when she grabbed the paper that was also inside. She took a deep breath before reading the note. He will never love you like I do. Buffy didn’t know what to think and dropped it to the floor. She closed her locker and turned around, only to bump into someone. She noticed that it was Riley and felt her hands tremble again.

“Are you okay?” he wondered.

Buffy tried to stay calm as she answered him. “I...I’m fine. I need to get home now,” she said and moved around him, quickly making her way out of the school. Buffy felt relieved once she made it outside, but the relief didn’t last. Her arm was jerked suddenly and she was pulled behind the school, where it was pretty deserted. She was about to scream, until that same person placed a hand over her mouth.

“There’s no need for that. I won’t hurt you.”

She couldn’t really place the voice, but it didn’t sound friendly.

“I’m going to remove my hand now, but you have to promise not to scream. You understand?”

Buffy only nodded as the hand was taken off of her mouth. She then turned around carefully to see who her stalker was. Her jaw nearly dropped when she finally recognized him. “Warren?” she claimed in shock.

A creepy smile lit up his face. “Sorry if I scared you, I didn’t know how else to get you alone.”

Buffy was really confused. Warren was one of the geekiest guys in school. He was great with Science and always got teased by the popular kids. She stood up for him once last year when a few of the jocks were tormenting him. He hardly said anything to her since then. She finally spoke after being quiet for at least a minute. “What are you doing? Are you the one that’s been following me around?” She had to be sure, but he only ignored her question.

“Did you get my necklace? I see you’re not wearing it.”

That was all the answer she needed. “Okay, this is crazy. You can’t just get me an expensive gift like that. You don’t even know me. I have a boyfriend and you’re just making both of us uncomfortable.”

Warren’s gaze darkened at that. “What? That Billy Idol wannabe? You think he could ever get you something like that? He’s not good enough for you. We have something special, Buffy. I felt it when you helped me with those jerks. You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t care.”

Buffy felt like laughing if the situation wasn’t so serious. “That’s what you’re basing this on? I did it because I’m a nice person and I don’t like to see anyone get teased like that. I would have probably done it for anyone. That was a year ago, okay? I’m sorry to hurt your feelings, but there’s nothing between us. I don’t even really know you. I think you just need to let it go and find someone else.” She was about to walk away, but Warren grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall.

“I won’t believe that. We’re meant to be together. I can feel it and I know you can, too. I’ve seen you looking at me in class sometimes. What we have is real and I’m not about to let you go.”

Buffy tried to push him away, but wasn’t having much luck. He was stronger than he looked. “You’re hurting my arm.”

He loosened his grip a little, but still wouldn’t release his hold on her.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. This is some sick obsession of yours. It could never be real. Let go of me,” she said in a surprisingly calm voice.

Warren wouldn’t listen. “I love you, Buffy. I’ll make you feel it.” He then grabbed her tighter and pulled her closer to him, planting a hard kiss on her lips.

Buffy was beyond grossed out and finally managed to shove him away from her. She wiped at her mouth and tried not to gag. “You really are a freak. I never believed what anyone said about you, but now I’m starting to see it. You have some serious issues. Stay the hell away from me,” she spat and started to walk away again, only to have him grab her by the hair and slam her back against the wall.

“I will have you, bitch!” he yelled, pure anger on his features.

She didn’t know what to do.

He started to slip his hand under her shirt.

Buffy tried to get away from him. “Don’t touch me!”

Warren slapped her hard across the face to shut her up.

She touched her stinging cheek and stared into his cold eyes.

“I don’t like to be told what to do,” he stated and continued to grope her.

Buffy was too scared to do anything else, when Warren was suddenly ripped away from her.

“I don’t believe the lady wanted you to touch her.”

Buffy had never been so relieved to see Riley.

Warren glared at both of them. “This isn’t over,” he said, then took off running in the other direction.

Buffy then felt tears start to blur her vision. She wiped her eyes before Riley could see.

“Are you okay?” he repeated his question from earlier.

Buffy nodded. “I just want to go home,” she whispered and couldn’t stop the tears from falling now.

Riley nodded as well and led her away from the school. “Yeah, I’ll take you.”

Buffy didn’t say anything else as she followed him to his car.

Riley let her in on the passenger side, then got in on the other side. He started the car and drove to her house.

The only words Buffy spoke were the directions. She really needed Spike.

Chapter 27

Riley stopped the car in front of Buffy’s house.

Buffy didn’t move for a few seconds, then looked up and felt more tears form in her eyes when she saw Spike walk out of his house. She suddenly got out of the car and ran over to him, Riley not that far behind.

Spike was confused when he saw her get out of another man’s car, even more confused when she attacked him in a big hug. He wrapped his arms around her and could tell that she was crying. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

All she could manage was a shake of the head.

Riley finally caught up to her and gave Spike a smile. “She had some trouble at school. I was just giving her a ride home.”

Spike nodded and wondered what could have happened. He was about to ask her again, when Dawn and Harmony came out of the house and noticed Buffy.

“What happened?” Dawn wondered, moving over to her sister.

Spike shook his head. “I don’t know yet. Could you two take her inside?”

They just nodded.

Spike let Buffy go, only to have her cling to him tighter. “It’s okay, love. I just want to talk to your friend here. I’ll be right inside.”

She managed to release her grip on him after a moment.

Dawn and Harmony each grabbed one of her arms and pulled her into the house.

Spike then turned back to Riley once they were gone. “What happened to her?” he asked, hoping that this other man wasn’t responsible for the way she was acting.

“It looked like this guy was getting rough with her outside of the school. I’m new here and I didn’t really know who he was, but it didn’t look like he was a friend. I hate to say this, but it looked like he was trying to rape her.”

Spike felt pure rage at the thought of anyone touching Buffy in that way.

“I tried getting her to talk in the car, but she wouldn’t say anything. She’s pretty shaken up.”

Spike took in a breath to calm his nerves. “Thanks, mate. I’m glad you got there when you did. My name’s Spike, I’m Buffy’s boyfriend,” he introduced himself and held his hand out.

Riley took it after a second. “Riley Finn, nice to meet you.”

They dropped their hands.

“You have yourself a great girl there.”

Spike agreed. “Yeah, I should probably check on her. Thanks again.”

Riley nodded and watched Spike make his way over to Buffy’s house. He really hoped that she was okay.


* * * * *


Buffy went to hug Spike again when he entered her room.

He returned the embrace and sat down on her bed, pulling Buffy down with him. “It’s going to be okay, baby. I’ve got you now,” he told her soothingly.

“I was so scared,” she whispered.

Spike nodded and held her tighter. He gave her a few moments, then finally pulled away to look at her. “Who was he, love? Is this the bloke that sent you the necklace?”

Buffy nodded as well and took a deep breath before she explained. “It was Warren Mears. He’s in a few of my classes. I helped him out last year when a few guys were picking on him. He seems to think that we’re meant to be together from that. I always knew he was weird, but I never thought he was crazy. I didn’t think he would actually try and hurt me. I heard that he once built a robot girlfriend. I never really believed it, but now I’m not so sure. He seems pretty desperate. He said he wasn’t finished with me. I don’t even want to think about what he would do next,” she finished shakily.

Spike took everything in. “You have to report this, Buffy. He’ll never leave you alone if you don’t.”

Buffy agreed and wiped her eyes. “I don’t want to go to the police, but I can talk to Principal Wood tomorrow.”

Spike figured that was better than nothing. “Okay, but I’m going with you. I’m sure he wouldn’t try anything with me around.”

Buffy shook her head. “I can’t have you do that. You have your own classes to deal with. I’m not even sure how I would explain you being there.”

Spike tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll tell them that I just decided to visit. A lot of graduates come back to visit their old teachers. I can miss one day of classes, this is more important. I don’t want you out of my sight.”

Buffy gave him another hug. It was great to have someone that cared about her like that. If it was possible, she loved him even more. “You’re too good to me,” she claimed and rested her head against his shoulder.

Spike put his arm around her. “No one hurts my girl,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “But if I see him, I won’t be held responsible for what I do. You may need to hold me back.”

Buffy laughed at that.

Spike was just glad to cheer her up a little.

“I’m pretty sure you can take him.”

He agreed. “You’re damn right I can. I remember that ponce from last year. He was always walking around with his nose in a book, caused a few accidents that way. Those are the ones you usually need to look at for. It’s always the quiet ones.”

Buffy nodded and decided to change the subject. “So, Riley seems nice. There’s no telling what could have happened if he didn’t show up. I don’t even want to think about it. I can’t believe I actually thought that he was the stalker. I think he might have a crush on me, though.”

Spike grinned and didn’t know how to break this to her. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don’t think you’re the one he’s crushing on. Trust me, I can always tell. I saw the way he was looking at your sister when she came out of the house.”

Buffy instantly pulled away to stare at him. “Wait, are you saying he likes Dawn?”

Spike laughed and shook his head. “No, I was talking about Harmony. Yeah, I wouldn’t really believe it either,” he explained when he noticed the shocked expression on her face.

“Wow, I never would have guessed. Riley seems a lot smarter than that, not that I think Harmony’s stupid or anything. She can actually be smart when she puts her mind to something, every now and then. She just doesn’t seem like his type. You know, this could actually be a good thing for her. She needs a guy like him. Maybe I could set something up; things went well with Faith and Tara.”

Spike placed a finger on her lips to quiet her. She could sometimes go on forever. “I think you just need to worry about yourself right now. If it’s meant to be, it has a way of working itself out,” he claimed, removing his finger.

Buffy nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. My mom will be home soon, so you should probably go. I’m hoping everything with Warren will just go away tomorrow. I don’t need her to know about it. This is the last week before we’re out for winter break. I just want to have a peaceful holiday. I won’t let some creepy guy ruin everything.”

Spike smiled and gave her a peck on the lips. “That’s the spirit. Don’t forget, I’ll be going with you tomorrow.”

She wasn’t about to forget.

He gave her one more kiss, then left the room.

Buffy watched him go and lay back in her bed. She really hoped everything would work out, but felt a lot better knowing that Spike would be with her.

Chapter 28

“So, what did the principal say?” Spike asked Buffy when she left the office the next day.

“He said that he would talk to Warren’s parents. He didn’t even show up to school today. I guess you really didn’t need to come with me.”

Spike shrugged and walked with her to class. “I still don’t mind it.”

Buffy stopped suddenly to look at him. “Spike, I’ll be fine the rest of the day. You should get back to the college.” She held her hand up when it looked like he was going to argue with her. “I’ll be fine. Not that I don’t love having you here, but I really don’t need a babysitter.”

“I would prefer bodyguard,” he said with a pout.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you when I get home. Love you,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek and walking away.

Spike sighed and watched her go. He knew that she could probably take care of herself, but he would always worry about her.


* * * * *


“You are never going to believe this,” Buffy said to Spike when she got home from school. She went straight to his house and was now sitting on his bed. “I talked to Principal Wood after school and he told me some interesting things about Warren. It looks like I won’t even have to worry about him anymore. His parents took him out of school. Apparently, Warren has been having a lot of problems. He did the same thing to another girl in his last school. He would follow her around and send her creepy notes. It got so bad that she filed a restraining order against him. His parents then relocated here and Warren swore that he was all better, but it looks like he needs some mental help. They heard of a special clinic in Los Angeles and they decided to move there. It makes you wonder how many schools he’s actually been to.”

Spike nodded as he took everything in. This bloke really did sound crazy. He was just glad that Buffy didn’t get really hurt. “Well, at least that’s taken care of.”

Buffy nodded in agreement. “Tell me about it, I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved. I’m just happy that I get to enjoy Christmas now and not be worried about this anymore. It will be a story to tell the grandkids, though,” she said with a smile.

Spike couldn’t resist smiling with her. He loved that Buffy thought about things like that. He already knew that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.


* * * * *


“Come on, you won’t even give him a chance?” she said later that day to a very stubborn Harmony.

“Okay, it’s really pathetic when my little sister has to set me up. I’m not interested, end of story.”

Buffy wasn’t about to give up. “He’s a really nice guy and you could use someone like that. You always date losers, no offense. I’m only looking out for you here.”

Harmony raised her eyebrows.

“I know how crazy it sounds, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Could you at least meet him and go on one date? If you don’t like him, then I won’t bother you again. You did sort of already meet him, so there shouldn’t be any pressure,” she mentioned and hoped that she was getting through to her older sister.

“When did I meet him?” Harmony wondered.

“You didn’t really meet, but you saw him once. His name’s Riley, he was the guy that brought me home yesterday.”

Harmony thought about it, then realized who Buffy was referring to. “Oh, I guess he is kinda cute. Not really my type, though.”

Buffy sighed. “That’s the point. Will you at least give him a chance?”

Harmony was about to respond, when Spike suddenly walked into the room and picked Buffy up.

He threw her over his shoulder.

She let out a squeal in surprise.

“I’m just going to borrow her,” he told Harmony and left the room with Buffy, who was now banging her tiny fists against his back.

“Spike, put me down! What are you doing?”

He finally put her down once they reached her room. “I was getting you out of there. We talked about this, Buffy. What did I tell you about the matchmaking?”

Buffy rolled her eyes and felt another lecture coming on. “You told me to just let things happen on their own and to not get involved, but things aren’t going to happen if I don’t give it a push in the right direction. I was only trying to help.”

Spike ran his fingers through his hair. “I know you were and I love you for that, but you have to let them make their own decisions. If Harmony isn’t interested, then you can’t force her be. That’s just how things are.”

Buffy pouted. “I just want everyone to be happy, especially around Christmas.”

Spike wrapped his arms around her. “I know you do, love. You have such a huge heart, but you just have to trust me. These things have a way of working themselves out, okay?” He felt her nod against his chest and figured that was the best he would get from her. “Like our other match. I talked to Faith; she’s planning on moving out of England to be closer to Tara. I never thought that girl would ever leave London, but it looks like she was finally motivated to do so. Ain’t love grand?”

Buffy laughed and pulled away to look at Spike. “This is good, right?”

Spike nodded and placed a kiss on her forehead. “It’s very good. They’re both happy and that’s all I’ve ever wanted. It’s even better if I don’t have to witness Faith hitting on you again.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows and clearly didn’t know about that.

Spike decided to clarify for her. “Basically, she thinks you’re hot. I caught her checking out your ass once and I smacked her in the head for that. I’m the only one that gets to look.”

Buffy was surprised and actually felt pretty flattered by the attention. Not that being a lesbian was anything that she would pursue, but she could still have some fun with Spike. “You know, Faith is pretty attractive. I’ve actually thought about crossing over a few times myself,” she told him with a smile.

Spike groaned. “Oh, bloody hell. If that happens to me a third time, I’m jumping off a cliff.”

Buffy laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I would be very upset if you did that. I was just having some fun with you. No worries, I love men way too much.” She laughed harder when he started to tickle her.

“I better be the only man, Goldilocks.”

Buffy was finding it hard to breathe through the laughter.

“Say it, Buffy. Say I’m the only man you would ever love.”

She tried to talk as his hands continued to attack her. “Okay, I give. You’re the only man I would ever love.”

Spike stopped his torture. “Now, was that so hard?”

Buffy shook her head and walked out of the room, then turned to Spike one more time. “Oh, except for Will Smith. That is one sexy man.” She laughed again when Spike chased her down the stairs. She could definitely get used to this.

Chapter 29

It was finally Christmas morning and everyone was gathered at the Summers house, including Giles and Spike. They all decided to get together for the holiday. They were practically family, after all.

Dawn always felt like a little kid again when it was Christmas. She would always be the first one up, making sure to wake everyone else up in the process. She was even more excited this year because Spike and Giles both got her a puppy.

Joyce assured them that it would be okay.

Dawn promised not to let anything happen to this one. She decided to name the puppy Amber because of her coloring.

Everyone was happy with all the presents that they received and then went their separate ways, until it was time for Christmas dinner.

Buffy and Spike were sitting in her room. They wanted to exchange their gifts in private.

“I know it’s not much, but I hope you like it,” he said and handed her a small box, with a red ribbon around it.

Buffy smiled and took it from him, positive that she would like anything from him. She opened the box and pulled out the charm bracelet that was inside.

“I remember you saying that you always wanted one. I even put two charms on it for you to start out with.”

Buffy noticed that the two charms were of a horse and a pair of ice skates. Besides horseback riding, she also used to love to skate when she was little. Buffy looked up at Spike. “Thank you, it’s really beautiful.”

“You really like it?” he asked to make sure.

Buffy only nodded and kissed him on the cheek. “I love it.” She put the bracelet on and gave him another kiss, this time on the lips.

He let out a sigh of relief.

She then went over to her closet to get his present.

Spike wondered what she could have possibly gotten him. His jaw dropped when he saw what it was. “Bloody hell, Buffy,” he said in awe, getting up and moving over to her.

“You like it?”

He nodded and could hardly form any thoughts at the moment. She was holding a framed poster of Billy Idol that was autographed. They were very rare and pretty expensive. “It’s amazing, pet. How did you afford this?”

Buffy shrugged. “I had some money saved up. I also sold Warren’s necklace.”

Spike smiled. “Thanks, love. This is really great,” he claimed and took the poster from her, still not believing that she would get him something like that.

Buffy knew that he was a huge fan of Billy Idol. It was meeting the rockstar at a concert years ago that inspired Spike’s look. “So, was it a good Christmas?”

Spike wrapped his arms around her, placing a kiss on the top of her head. “Best Christmas,” he commented.

She had to agree.


* * * * *


“Who knew you had such good taste, kid?” Harmony stated and continued to stare at herself in the mirror. She was wearing the new sweater that Dawn got for her.

“I’m not a kid; I just saw it and thought of you. I kinda felt bad for ruining your other one,” Dawn replied and still found it hard to believe that she was saying this to Harmony. Things really have changed between them.

Harmony nodded. “Well, it’s pretty cool.” She finally turned away from her reflection to look at her sister. “Thanks, you’re really not so bad.”

Dawn shrugged and let a small smile grace her lips. “Yeah, I guess you’re not so bad either. You know, when you’re not talking.”

Harmony rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on her face as well.


* * * * *


“Spike, we really should get downstairs now,” Buffy panted.

Spike kept trailing kisses down her neck. “We can be a little late.”

“We shouldn’t be doing this with our family here.”

Spike shrugged and pulled away to look at her. “I’ll keep quiet if you will,” he said with a smirk.

Buffy rolled her eyes and gave in. “Okay, but not in front of Billy.”

Spike turned to see that the poster was by the bed and staring right at them. He got up and moved the poster, so it was facing the other direction. He then grinned and crawled back to Buffy. “Now, where were we?”

She laughed as he pounced on her.


* * * * *


“I wonder what is taking them so long,” Joyce commented as everyone else was gathered at the table.

Dawn and Harmony exchanged looks with each other. They both had a feeling about what the two blonde’s were up to, but they weren’t about to say anything.

“I’m sure they will be coming soon,” Giles replied.

Dawn snickered at that.

Harmony kicked her lightly under the table, also trying to keep her laughter in. She was surprised at the dirty mind her little sister had.

Dawn agreed. “Yeah, I’m sure they will. I give them at least five more minutes.”

Harmony rolled her eyes. “Please, it’ll probably be closer to ten.”

Dawn tried not to laugh again.

Joyce and Giles just stared at them in confusion.


* * * * *


“Okay, we really have to get downstairs now. They’re probably wondering what’s taking us so long,” Buffy said as she got dressed.

Spike did the same. “I’m sure your sisters know exactly what we were doing,” he told her with that irritating, and very sexy smirk again.

“Right, we really need to get down there.” She headed to the door, only to be stopped by Spike grabbing her arm.

“You might want to do something about your hair, pet. Not that I don’t love it like that, but you look like a woman that was just royally shagged.”

Buffy realized that he was right when she caught her reflection in the mirror. She brushed her hair as fast as she could, then just decided to put it up in a pony tail. She grabbed his hand and headed downstairs to join the rest of their family.


* * * * *


“Ha, ten minutes exactly. Pay up, sister,” Harmony said, holding her hand out.

Dawn groaned and gave her the five dollars.

She smiled and shoved it in her pocket.

Buffy glared at both of her sisters and sat down.

Spike sat down across from her.

“Sorry about the wait. Spike was helping me find something.”

Dawn placed her hand over her mouth and started to giggle again.

Buffy then kicked Dawn under the table, or who she thought was Dawn.

“Ow, bloody hell. Warn a bloke before you do that,” Spike complained as he rubbed his leg.

“Sorry,” she replied with a shrug.

He realized that she didn’t look all that sorry.

Joyce and Giles both rolled their eyes at their children’s behavior. They decided to ignore it and just enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner together.

Chapter 30

New Year’s passed and it was soon Buffy’s seventeenth birthday. She always had bad luck with her birthdays in the past, and made her mother promise not to give her a party this year. She just wanted a quiet birthday and didn’t want anyone to make a big deal, but Spike wouldn’t have that.

He got Joyce and everyone else involved, making sure that Buffy knew nothing about it. A young girl only turned seventeen once. He took her out to the movies, so everyone at the house could get things ready.

The movie ended about two hours later. They walked out of the theater, hand in hand, both with confused expressions on their faces.

“Well, that was very artistic,” she said to break the silence.

Spike agreed. “Yeah, that it was.”

“It wasn't what I expected. I've never actually seen...Well, from the title I thought it was about food.”

“Well, there was food,” he replied.

Buffy nodded. “Right, the scene with the food. That was…That was very interesting. I definitely won’t be looking at food the same way again.”

Spike laughed this time and brought her hand to his mouth, giving it a soft kiss. “I promise to take you to something with less food next time.”

She smiled and continued the walk in silence. Buffy spoke up again when she realized they were headed to her house. “You know, it’s still pretty early. I don’t have to go home yet.”

Spike shook his head. “You’re the birthday girl; I shouldn’t keep you out too late. You should spend at least some of this day with your family.”

Buffy was a little suspicious, pulling on his arm to stop him. “You’ve been acting weird today. There wouldn’t happen to be a surprise party or anything, would there?” she wondered with raised eyebrows.

“Now, why would I do that? I know how much you’re against it.”

Buffy snatched her hand out of his and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not buying that. If there’s a party in there, you’re not getting sex for at least a week.”

Spike almost believed her. “Well, it’s just a risk I’ll have to take.” He grabbed her hand again and continued the walk to her house.


* * * * *


“Surprise!” Everyone yelled once Buffy and Spike entered the house.

Buffy put on a smile and acted surprised, then turned a glare on Spike that she tried to hide with the smile. “You are so dead.”

He just gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Love you, too.”

She smiled for real now, then went to join her family and friends. Buffy saw that Cordelia was there, along with Xander and Anya. Riley was there as well. He was talking with Harmony and Buffy smiled again. Harmony decided to go out with Riley a few weeks ago, and she actually liked him. They were still dating and Buffy was happy for them. She hugged Tara and Faith, who decided to leave the farm to be there for her birthday. She was surprised that everyone managed to show up, realizing that surprise parties weren’t all that bad.


* * * * *


Buffy was about ready to open her presents, everyone gathering around her.

“Open mine first, Buffy,” Connor said, pointing to a white box.

Buffy wondered why he was so eager. “This won’t explode, will it?”

He just shook his head.

Buffy took a deep breath and opened the box, frowning at what was inside. It was some skimpy lingerie that left nothing to the imagination.

Spike was concerned when he saw the expression on her face and got a closer look at what was in the box. He then smacked Connor on the head, wiping the smile off of the boy’s face. “What’s the matter with you?”

Connor rubbed his head. “Jeez, it was just a joke. You people really need to lighten up. I stole it from my sister. She has tons of slutty lingerie. The real present is underneath.”

Buffy rolled her eyes and handed him back the lingerie, looking to see what else was in the box. She found a pair of fuzzy socks and tried not to laugh. “Thanks, you can never have too much socks.”

Connor was pleased that she liked it.

Buffy then put the box away and went to open another present.

Dawn scowled at her boyfriend. “Why do I put up with you?”

He shrugged. “Because you love me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I need to have my head examined.”

Buffy was tuning them out and just continued with the presents. She received a nice blouse from Willow, and some make up from Harmony and Cordelia. She wasn’t sure if she should take that as an insult or not. Harmony did say she could always use some color, but was perfectly fine with just her lip gloss. Buffy gasped when she got to Anya’s present. It was a book of different sexual positions and what to do to please your lover. She blushed bright red.

Spike couldn’t help the smile that graced his lips at the gift.

“What is it, honey?”

Buffy hid the gift from her mother’s gaze. “Just a book of poetry,” she said quickly.

Joyce seemed to accept her answer.

Buffy was also relieved that her mother wasn’t in the room when she opened the lingerie. She really needed some new friends.

Joyce then went back into the kitchen to join Giles.

Xander looked at her apologetically. “Sorry about that, Buff. I tried to talk her out of it.”

Buffy gave him a grateful smile. “I appreciate the effort.” She finished opening the rest of the presents and loved all of them, thanking everyone for the gifts.

Spike handed her an envelope.

Buffy was confused as she took it from him.

“This is also from Tara and Faith,” he told her.

The two girls smiled and watched Buffy open the envelope.

Buffy was even more confused when she saw that it was a picture of a horse. The horse was very beautiful, no doubt about that. She was white, with brown spots all over her. “What’s this about?”

Tara decided to be the one to tell her. “This is Drusilla; she’s a new addition to the farm. She’s also yours.”

Buffy was surprised and glanced back at Spike.

He still saw the confusion on her face and decided to explain better. “I bought her for you, love. Tara and Faith will be taking care of her at the farm, but she’s your horse. You can see her whenever you want.”

Buffy couldn’t believe what she was hearing and looked at the picture again, then back at her boyfriend. “You bought me a horse?”

Spike nodded and hoped that it was a good idea.

A smile then lit up her face as she got up to hug him. “Thank you, Spike. I’ve always wanted a horse,” Buffy claimed and pulled out of the embrace, staring back at the picture of her new pet. “She’s so beautiful.” Buffy also thanked Tara and Faith. “Can we see her tomorrow?” she asked Spike.

He smiled and brushed some hair out of her face. “We can do whatever you want, sweetheart.”

She hugged him again. It looked like her curse of bad birthdays was finally broken. This was one that she definitely didn’t want to forget.

Chapter 31

“She’s so perfect,” Buffy commented, stroking Drusilla’s mane.

Spike kept his promise and they decided to visit the horse the next day.

Tara and Faith were happy to have them over for the weekend.

Drusilla already took a liking to Buffy, and Spike knew that she would be the perfect choice for his girl.

“I’m going to take her riding, Spike. I should be back soon.”

He nodded and helped her onto the horse. “Be careful, love.”

She bent down to place a kiss on his lips.

Spike made sure that she didn’t fall.

“I’m always careful,” she said with a wink, then took off with Drusilla.

Spike had a smile on his face as he watched her go. She always looked amazing when she was riding.

“Hey, bleach boy? Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

He was broken out of his reverie by Faith. “I just wanted to make sure that she was okay.”

Faith rolled her eyes. “Blondie can handle herself. She’s real good when it comes to horses, which is more than I can say for myself.”

Spike raised his eyebrows. “You actually rode a horse? You actually survived riding a horse?”

Faith slapped him on the arm. “Give me some credit, I do live here now. Besides, Tara wanted me to give it a try. Won’t be doing that again anytime soon, it’s really not my thing.”

Spike gave her a smile. “So, how many times did you fall off?”

Faith sighed and knew that she couldn’t get anything by him. He knew her way too well. “I fell twice, okay? Are you satisfied now?”

Spike felt guilty. “Did you get hurt?”

She scoffed. “Please, I’m a hard ass. You should know that better than anyone.”

He rolled his eyes. “Your hard ass needs to get back in the house. I’m trying to concentrate on Buffy here.”

Faith figured that would be the perfect opportunity to make him uncomfortable again. “Yeah, I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t mind concentrating on her either,” she responded, licking her lips.

Spike groaned in irritation. “Bloody hell, can you stop hitting on my girlfriend? You have your own now.”

Faith held up her hands in surrender. “Just yanking your chain, man. Don’t worry, she’s all yours.”

He rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time and turned away from her.

Faith then slapped him on the ass.

Spike jumped in surprise.

She smiled and headed back into the house.

Spike let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. “That bint is going to be the bloody death of me,” he said to himself, then continued to wait for Buffy to return. It was almost dark and there was still no sign of her. He was starting to get worried and couldn’t wait anymore. He headed to the stables and decided to borrow one of Tara’s horses, figuring that she wouldn’t mind. Spike chose Lightning because he knew that was a horse he could handle, then mounted the stallion and took off in the direction Buffy went.


* * * * *


He found Buffy sitting on the edge of a cliff; Drusilla tied up to a nearby tree. Spike got off of Lightning and tied him up as well. He then went to join Buffy, who didn’t even look up at him.

“It’s so beautiful here,” she whispered.

Spike sat down next to her. “Are you okay, love? You had me worried when you didn’t come back.”

She finally turned to look at him. “Sorry about that, I guess I was finding it hard to leave. The sun was setting and it looked so amazing from up here.”

Spike agreed and grasped her hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

Buffy locked her gaze with his.

Spike was confused by the expression on her face. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her so serious.

Buffy softly caressed his cheek.

He felt his eyes close at her touch.

“Do you know how much I love you?” she said after a few seconds.

He opened his eyes to stare at her. “I think I have some idea.”

Buffy took a deep breath before she spoke again. “This is all new to me. I don’t even think I’m good with the words, but I’m willing to try. I love you so much, Spike. More than I ever thought I could love anyone. I’m so grateful to have you in my life. I don’t even want to think about a life without you in it. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I just wanted you to know that. Everything you’ve done for me, it’s more than I could ever ask for.”

Spike was starting to tear up at her declaration. No woman had ever made him feel so loved before. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her, pressing light kisses all over her face. “I love you, Buffy. I always will, nothing can ever change that. You’re my whole world, sweetheart. My everything and I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy. I already don’t know how to do anything else. This is it for me, Buffy. There will never be anyone else. Do you feel that, too?”

Buffy started to tear up herself. “Yes, my heart will always belong to you,” she responded and grabbed his hand, placing it over her heart.

He smiled and did the same.

The tears were falling freely down her face now. “I didn’t mean to get so mushy on you,” she commented, wiping at her eyes.

Spike shook his head. “You don’t ever have to apologize for that. You weren’t the only one,” he claimed, then continued to hold her for what felt like forever.

They both knew that they should probably head back before it was completely dark, so they mounted both of their horses and rode off into the night.


* * * * *


Yes, major fluffiness indeed. You guys should enjoy it while it lasts. I honestly don't know how long this story is going to be. So far it's my longest one yet and I'm pretty proud of that. Thanks to everyone for the reviews. I'm glad you guys like that I named the horse Drusilla. That was just the first name that popped into my head. Happy New Year=)

Chapter 32

“I’m pregnant.”

Spike stared at Buffy in shock. “You’re what?”

She just gave him a smile. “Kidding, I was hoping that would get some reaction out of you. What’s wrong, Spike? You’ve been all spacey since we got back from visiting Tara and Faith. Did something happen that I don’t know about?”

Spike shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong, I’ve just been thinking about some things lately.”

“What things? Hopefully not another girl.”

Spike smiled and planted a kiss on the tip of her nose. “You never have to worry about that. So, are we alone in the house? It’s been pretty quiet,” he said with a smirk.

Buffy figured he just wanted to change the subject. “I think Harmony’s downstairs with Riley. I know I’m mainly responsible for them being together, but they’re so gross sometimes. I already walked in on them once, and I’m still hoping to get that visual out of my head.”

Spike laughed and wrapped his arms around her. “I have ways of taking your mind off of it,” he said and kissed her firmly on the lips.

She pushed him away after a few seconds. “As tempting as that is, I really have to study. My mom freaked when I got a C on my last test. She thinks you’re starting to corrupt me.”

Spike knew that Buffy never got anything lower than a B+ in school. They had been spending a lot of time together. He probably should have taken it more seriously when she said that she needed to study. “Right, I should let you get to that then. Anything you need help with?”

She shook her head and looked through her books. “Not if I actually want to pass.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Ha bloody ha, I was always good in school.”

Buffy nodded and glanced back at him. “Of course you were. You passed lunch with flying colors.” She laughed when he grabbed her and threw her on the bed.

“I’ll show you just how good I am,” he commented, then got on top of her and attacked her mouth in a hard kiss. He slipped his hand under her shirt and started to caress the smooth skin that he found there.

Buffy shivered and pulled away to take a deep breath. “Spike, I really need to study.”

He nodded and lay beside her, running his hand over her stomach. “You know, it wasn’t right of you to say that you were pregnant. You got my hopes up and everything.”

Buffy wasn’t expecting that. “You actually wanted me to be pregnant?”

Spike shrugged and looked away from her. “I’m not saying it’s something I want now. Definitely not when we’re both still in school, but I do want that. I always dream about having everything with you, Buffy. The house with the white, picket fence and maybe two or three kids. We can get a big enough yard for Drusilla to run around in, and maybe get a dog or cat for the little ones,” he said all of this with his head down and when he glanced back up at her, she had tears in her eyes. Spike hoped that he didn’t say anything wrong.

“You really think about that?”

He nodded again. “What we have is forever, love. I just need to know if that’s something you would want.”

Buffy wiped her eyes and nodded as well. “I want everything you just said, when we’re both old enough to handle it. I just hope you won’t get sick of me before then,” she told him, letting some of her insecurities shine through.

Spike shook his head and gave her a peck on the lips. “Never going to happen.”

She could tell how sincere he was. “Well, we have our whole lives to think about that. We don’t have to rush into anything.”

Spike agreed, then lay back in her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Buffy smiled and finally got some studying done.


* * * * *


“Do you know what that movie was about?”

Spike shook his head. “I haven’t got a bloody clue, but I don’t think there was any food involved.”

Buffy laughed and grasped his hand.

They left the theater and headed to the Bronze.

“I think we should probably pay attention next time.”

Spike grinned. “I liked watching you instead.”

Buffy blushed and didn’t think that she would ever get used to his endearments.

They finally made it to the Bronze, where they were supposed to be meeting their friends.

He had other ideas and decided to pull her over to the alley behind the club.

“Spike, we should get inside. They’ll be wondering what’s taking us so long.”

He shrugged and pushed her gently against the wall. “I’m sure they’ll figure it out. I want at least five minutes alone with you before we deal with the group,” he said and started to leave light kisses on her neck.

She suddenly forgot what they were talking about. Oh well, five minutes wouldn’t hurt.


* * * * *


Willow glanced down at her watch. “I wonder what’s taking Buffy and Spike so long. The movie should have been over by now.”

Anya was the first one to make a comment. “They’re probably having orgasms. I hope Buffy put that book to use.”

Willow rolled her eyes.

The others just ignored Anya. They were pretty much used to her bluntness by now.


* * * * *


Spike and Buffy tried to fix themselves up before they walked into the Bronze. They were about to head out of the alley, when another man stopped them.

“Give me all your money,” he said shakily.

Spike held his hand up; making sure that Buffy was safely behind him. “We don’t have anything on us, mate. We don’t want any trouble.”

The man wouldn’t listen. “I think you already found it,” he stated and pulled a gun out of his pocket, aiming the weapon at them.

Buffy felt really scared and held on to Spike, who was trying to reason with him.

“All right, just calm down. You don’t really want to do this. Just give me the gun and no one has to know.”

The man looked like he didn’t know what to do, but he really needed money. “I’m not afraid to use this,” he said, his eyes landing on Buffy.

She felt uncomfortable under his stare.

“That’s a nice necklace your girl has there.”

Buffy touched the cross necklace that her mother gave her and really didn’t want to part with it, but she would if it meant getting out of there unharmed.

The man didn’t wait for a response and went to grab Buffy.

Spike then shoved him away from her.

His finger slipped on the trigger and the gun went off.

Spike grabbed Buffy and pulled her to the ground.

The man realized what happened and took off in the other direction.

Spike sighed in relief once he was gone. “It’s okay now, pet. That was a close one,” he said and pulled away, only to notice the blood stain on his shirt. He touched the blood and realized that it wasn’t his. He looked at Buffy lying there and saw the gunshot wound in her abdomen. Spike panicked when he saw that her eyes were closed. He felt for a pulse and was relieved when he found one, but it was pretty weak. “Buffy? Baby, talk to me. You have to wake up.” He tried to get through to her, but she wouldn’t open her eyes. He didn’t know what else to do, then remembered that he had his cell phone with him. He pulled it out of his pocket and quickly dialed 911. He explained what happened to the woman that answered and told them to hurry with an ambulance. Spike hung up when they said they were on their way. He stared at Buffy and tried to stop the bleeding as much as he could. “The ambulance is coming, love. You’re going to be fine. You have to be,” he whispered the last part, then rested his head against hers. He just hoped they got there soon. Spike didn’t think she could hold on much longer, and that was a thought that terrified him more than anything else.

Chapter 33

Spike was waiting with everyone at the hospital.

Willow and the others came outside when they heard the gunshot. They waited with Spike for the ambulance to arrive.

He was the only one that rode with her to the hospital.

The others arrived in their own cars.

Xander decided to be the one to call Joyce because Spike was too shaken up to do it.

Joyce arrived minutes later, with Dawn and Harmony.

Giles agreed to give them all a ride over there since Joyce didn’t think she could handle driving at the moment.

It was about an hour later and the waiting was making all of them crazy. Buffy was taken into surgery and they haven’t found out anything yet.

Joyce finally saw the doctor head in their direction. She immediately stood up. “How is my daughter doing?”

The doctor took a deep breath before he spoke.

Everyone’s attention was now on him.

“She lost a lot of blood. We were able to remove the bullet, but it was pretty close. If the bullet was a little more to the left, there is a chance we would have lost her. She’s stable right now, but I’m afraid she has slipped into a coma. We have high hopes that she will awaken. It could take days or maybe weeks, it’s really too soon to tell. I’ve done all I can for her, it’s up to Buffy now.”

Joyce placed a hand over her heart and shed more tears that night. She couldn’t believe that her baby was in a coma.

Giles put his arm around the distraught woman.

“Thank you, doctor,” he said and didn’t think that Joyce was up for anymore talking.

The doctor gave him a nod and was about to walk away, when a quiet voice stopped him.

“Can we see her?”

He turned to look at the blond man that spoke and realized he was the one that came into the hospital with the young woman. He nodded and looked at all of the pained faces around him. “Yes, of course. I’m only allowed to let at least two people in at once, but you all may see her. She’s in room 730.” He gave them all a small smile before walking away.

No one knew what to say next.

Giles gazed at his son. “William, could you go with Joyce? You two should be first.”

Spike glanced at his father and nodded, then stood up and went over to Joyce. He could see that she was trying hard not to cry. He felt the same way and just took her hand in his, making their way to Buffy’s room.


* * * * *


Joyce couldn’t stop the tears from falling when she saw her daughter lying so still in the hospital bed. She went over to her side and sat down in the chair next to the bed, grasping Buffy’s hand and staring at her pale face. Her daughter had never looked so lifeless before and it terrified Joyce.

Spike just stood there and watched in silence. He didn’t know what else to do. He could hardly even look at her, without getting choked up. Buffy was always so full of life and he couldn’t stand seeing her like that.

“You’ll come back to all of us, sweetie. You’re my brave girl,” Joyce finished, letting Buffy’s hand go and standing up. She walked over to Spike and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll let you talk to her.” She looked at her daughter one more time, then left the room.

Spike took a deep breath and walked over to Buffy, sitting in the seat that Joyce just occupied. He did the same thing and grabbed Buffy’s hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles. He tried to keep his tears in, but it was a losing battle. “I’m so sorry, Buffy. This is all my fault,” he said hoarsely, giving her hand a squeeze. “If we just went inside when you wanted to, this wouldn’t have happened.” He tried to control himself to say what he had to. “Your mum is right, love. You’re very brave and I know you’ll come back to us. You have to because I don’t know what I’ll do without you. It should have been me. I should be the one lying here right now, not you. You’re such an amazing person. You don’t deserve this. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know.” The tears were blurring his vision now and he didn’t care to wipe them away. “You’ll come back to me and when you do, I’m never going to let you out of my sight again. You’ll start to get sick of me,” he claimed with a small smile. “All you have to do is open those pretty eyes of yours, baby. I know you can do it.” There was still no response from her and Spike didn’t know what else he could say. All he could do was pray that she would come back to him.


* * * * *


It was really late and everyone already came in to see Buffy, most of them went home by now.

Spike was still by her side, and it didn’t look like he would be leaving anytime soon.

Giles placed his hand on Spike’s shoulder. “I will be taking Joyce and the girls home now. You should come with us, son. You need your rest.”

Spike shook his head. “I’m not leaving.”

Giles let out a sigh and tried to reason with the young man. “William, it’s not healthy for you to be here all night. There’s nothing more you can do right now. You need to come home.”

Spike wouldn’t budge.

Giles wasn’t even sure if he heard him, until Spike looked up at him, a determined expression on his face.

“I’m not leaving her.”

Giles figured there was nothing more he could say, so he only nodded. “All right, I’ll see you in the morning then. Please, try and get some rest.”

Spike nodded as well and was glad that Giles wouldn’t argue with him anymore. Buffy was in the hospital because of him, there was no way he was going to leave her now. He was going to be there when she woke up.

Chapter 34

It was days later and there was still no sign of Buffy waking up.

Spike remained by her side and would hardly ever leave the hospital room.

Giles finally talked him into getting something to eat and agreed to stay with Buffy.

Spike didn’t feel like arguing, so he placed a kiss on Buffy’s forehead and went to get something from one of the vending machines. He put his money into the machine and waited for the bag of chips to fall out, but nothing happened. He let out a sigh and couldn’t even seem to care, when he heard a voice behind him.

“You need to give it a kick.”

Spike turned around to see an unfamiliar boy standing there. He was probably a few years younger.

“This one gets stuck a lot, but that should do the trick.”

Spike nodded and took the kid’s advice. He gave the machine a kick and the bag of chips finally fell out. He took it and gave the boy a grateful smile. “Thanks,” he said.

The boy nodded as well and noticed how tired he looked. “I’m Matthew, have you been here for a while?”

Spike nodded again and rubbed his eyes. “Feels like it’s been a lifetime. I’m Spike,” he introduced himself.

“Cool name, your parents punk rockers or something?”

Spike laughed for the first time in what felt like forever. “It’s just a nickname. So, you here visiting someone?”

Matthew shook his head. “No, I’m a patient here. I have leukemia, just getting some tests done,” he said like it was no big deal.

“Sorry about that, mate. I didn’t realize.”

Matthew shrugged off his concern. “No problem, I’m used to it. Why are you here? You look like you haven’t slept in a hundred years.”

Spike sighed and decided that it might make him feel better to talk about it. “My girlfriend was brought in about a week ago. She…She had an accident,” he said and realized that maybe he wasn’t quite ready to go into the details.

Matthew gave him a look of sympathy. “Sorry, that has to suck. I hope she’ll be okay.”

Spike silently agreed.

“This place isn’t so bad. It’s practically my second home. The doctors are really great here. She’s in good hands.”

Spike smiled now and was really trying to believe it, but he wouldn’t be convinced until Buffy woke up. “Thanks, I appreciate that. I should probably be getting back to her room now.”

Matthew nodded and figured that he should do the same. His parents would wonder what was taking him so long. “It was nice to meet you. I hope everything works out.”

He nodded as well. “Yeah, same to you.” Spike watched the boy walk away, starting to feel a little better.


* * * * *


Spike saw his father talking to the doctor when he made his way back to Buffy’s room, then noticed that someone was standing in the doorway of her room. He didn’t know who it was, until he got closer and realization came to him. It was the man that shot Buffy outside of the Bronze. He would recognize that face anywhere.

“Son of a bitch,” he said to himself, then all he saw was red. This was the man that put Buffy in the hospital, and he had the nerve to show his face around her? Spike didn’t even care where he was at the moment. He only knew that the bloke had to pay for what he did. “You bloody bastard!” he yelled out loud this time.

The man turned around to look at him. His eyes widened when he recognized Spike. He then held up his hands in surrender. “I just wanted to see how she was doing. I know I have no right to, but I feel really bad about what happened. I never meant to hurt anyone.”

Spike could have laughed if the situation wasn’t so serious. “Oh, you feel bad? Do you think that’s just going to make everything better? That girl is a bloody angel! She’s the best person in this whole world and she’s lying in a coma right now because of you! Because you got greedy and picked the wrong two people to try and rob. You made one very big mistake with that.”

The man gulped and waited for what he had to say next.

Spike got closer to him and knew that he wouldn’t be able to control his anger for much longer. “You didn’t shoot me instead,” he finished harshly, then punched the man in the face. He went down and Spike didn’t even wait for him to get back up. He grabbed him by his shirt and started to rein punches on him. “I’m going to kill you! You should die for what you did to her!”

The man tried to shield his face from the hits, but it was no use.

Spike then felt someone pull him away, but he kept struggling. “I’ll bloody kill you!” he continued to yell.

“William, calm down. I know you’re upset, but this isn’t the answer.”

Spike heard his father say, but still tried to get free. “He’s the one that shot her. I can’t let him get away with it,” he said after he calmed down a little.

Giles nodded and noticed the doctor help the man up off of the floor, then notified the police that were already in the building. They came and took him away, while Giles still tried to comfort the distressed young man.

Spike broke down after that, tears falling freely down his face.

Giles held him tighter.

Spike cried into his chest like he sometimes would when he was a child.

Giles just patted him on the back. “It’ll be all right, son,” he said a few times and hoped that Spike was listening. He had never seen his son so broken before, and it was really starting to worry him. Staying at the hospital was slowly making him crazy and Giles tried to convince Spike to go home and get some real rest. That he would be no help to Buffy in this condition.

Spike was beyond tired at this point and finally agreed.

Giles took him home because he figured that Spike was in no position to drive himself.

Spike remained silent the whole drive there and went right to his room when they finally got home. He couldn’t even bring himself to look over at Buffy’s house because it was too painful. He closed the blinds and lay down on his bed. The view outside his window was of Buffy’s room and he couldn’t even look at that right now. It wasn’t the same without seeing her in there. He finally closed his eyes and got some much needed rest, with dreams of his golden goddess in his head.

Chapter 35

“I’m very worried about my son. He hasn’t been sleeping well and he’s hardly eating. He doesn’t even care to talk to me.”

Joyce gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “Things will get better, Rupert. We have to believe that. My baby will wake up, and William will go back to being the same person he always was. He just loves her very much. This is hard for all of us.”

Giles nodded in understanding. “I just wish there was more I could do. I have never seen him like this before. I don’t know what he would have done to that man if I wasn’t there.”

Joyce agreed, both of them thinking about their children.


* * * * *


“So, what’s going on down there?” Harmony asked her sister once she came back upstairs from eavesdropping on the adults.

Dawn sighed. “Just Giles being concerned for Spike. I’m kinda concerned for him, too. He’s not doing so well. We all miss Buffy and hope that she gets better, but he’s taking it harder than anyone else. We should go talk to him.”

Harmony didn’t like that plan. “I doubt he’ll listen to us. He won’t even talk to anyone right now. He would probably just bite our heads off if we went over there. I don’t wanna deal with a pissed off Spike.”

Dawn sat down on her sister’s bed. “He’s not really pissed off; I think he’s just sad. He needs a friend right now.”

Harmony nodded, but didn’t say anything about it.

Dawn’s eyes lit up when she finally got an idea. “I know just the person that can help him.”

Harmony was curious now.

Dawn went to the phone and dialed a familiar number, hoping that she would be able to help Spike.


* * * * *


Spike was lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, when someone suddenly barged into his room. He didn’t even bother to look and see who it was.

“You’re being really pathetic. I want you to get out of bed.”

Spike sighed when he recognized Faith and still didn’t care to move.

She had enough and grabbed his arm, pulling him off of the bed.

Spike snatched his arm out of her grasp and glared at her. “What do you want?”

Faith rolled her eyes. “I want you to stop acting like this. Dawn called me because she was worried about you. You’re not looking so hot right now. You need to get out of this room and get some fresh air. Eating something would do you some good, too.”

Spike turned away from her. “Sod off,” he mumbled.

Faith didn’t like to be ignored. She grabbed his arm harder and turned him back around. “You’re better than this, Spike. Sitting in your room and feeling sorry for yourself is not gonna make things better; it’s not going to help Buffy.”

Spike gave her a hard stare, but didn’t say anything.

“She needs you right now. She needs you to be strong. How would you feel when she wakes up and sees you like this? Knowing that you’ve been cutting yourself off from everyone? It would only upset her, and I know you don’t want that. She is going to pull through, but she can’t do it alone. She needs you now more than ever, Spike.”

His expression softened, tears forming in his eyes. “I don’t know what to do.”

Faith was pleased that she seemed to get through to him. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you what might help. You should go for a walk or something, clear your head. You just need to get out of this house. And if you don’t, I will personally kick your ass. You’re driving everyone crazy.”

Spike graced her with a small smile.

She was relieved to see it.

He then gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”

She held him tighter. “I love you, too.”

They pulled out of the embrace.

Faith gave him a pat on the back. “Now, get out of here.”

He nodded, heading downstairs and out of the house. Spike decided to go back to the hospital and see how Buffy was doing. He had been avoiding it for a couple of days now because he was afraid of what he would find out, but he couldn’t go any longer without seeing her.


* * * * *


Spike finally made it to the hospital a few minutes later and headed right for her room. He took a deep breath before walking inside and noticed that nothing seemed to change. She looked the same as the last time he saw her. He sat by her bed and realized that she had a little more color in her cheeks. He took that as a good sign and took her hand in his.

“Hey, baby. Sorry I haven’t been by lately, things have been crazy. I’m here now and I promise I won’t leave your side again.” He talked to her about everything that had been going on with him and the others, not leaving anything out. He didn’t care if she would be disappointed in him when she woke up. She had a right to know how he spent the last week.

“Is that her?”

Spike stopped at the sound of a voice coming from the doorway, smiling when he saw the same boy that he met before. “Yeah, this is my girl. It’s Matthew, right?”

He nodded and walked further into the room. “She’s really pretty.”

Spike agreed. “Bloody gorgeous is more like it. How’ve you been, kid?”

Matthew shrugged and sat down in another chair that was in the room. “I feel fine, some days are better than others. How is she doing?”

Spike sighed and turned his gaze back on Buffy. “She looks a little better, but she still hasn’t woken up. I don’t know what else to do,” he said in a defeated tone, finally realizing that he couldn’t do anything for Buffy.

“You’re doing all you can. Just being here and talking to her is enough. She can hear everything you’re saying.”

Spike raised his eyebrows. “How do you know that?”

Matthew shrugged again. “I know about coma victims. I had an accident when I was younger and was put in one for about a month. They need something to keep them on this plane, so they don’t drift off completely into their mind. She can hear you and knowing that you’re here will help her to wake up. She won’t drift away if you keep talking to her and try to keep her here. She’ll do whatever she can to come back to you.”

Spike nodded and realized that this kid was pretty smart. It was just sad because it seemed like he hasn’t had the best life. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Matthew nodded as well and stood up. “I should get back now. I wasn’t even supposed to leave my room, but I hate being cooped up in one place for too long.”

Spike could definitely understand that.

“Take care of yourself, Spike. I know she’ll be okay. It’s not her time yet.” He was about to walk away, when Spike spoke again.

“What about you?”

Matthew glanced back at him. “I think my time is about to run out. There’s not much else they can do for me, but I’m not afraid to die. I would miss my parents and everything, but I know I’ll be going to a better place. As long as I keep thinking about that, it’s not so scary.”

Spike gave a sad smile and really felt for him. He was very brave for someone so young.

Matthew then left the room.

Spike was left with his thoughts and gazed at Buffy. He was now more determined than ever that she would wake up. “I know you can hear me, love. I want you to know that I’ll always be here for you. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here when you decide that it’s time to come back. I love you so much, Buffy. It’s important that you always believe that.” He didn’t know what else to say and just raised her hand to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. He then looked to see if he got any reaction from her. He sighed when nothing changed and was about to let her hand go, when he suddenly felt her fingers squeeze him. He was so surprised by that and looked at her face again. Spike was even more surprised to see a pair of beautiful, green eyes staring back at him.

Chapter 36

“Buffy? God, Buffy,” Spike said in awe and hugged the young woman to his chest, tears falling down his face. “You’re awake,” he whispered, pulling away after a few seconds. He had to be sure that she was really back with him. He caressed her cheek and noticed that she looked really confused.

“Where am I?” she wondered softly.

“You were shot, baby. You’re in the hospital. You’ve been asleep for the last two weeks, but you’re back now.”

Buffy gave him a small smile. “I heard you calling.”

Spike was relieved that she did hear him.

“You were hurting.”

He nodded and glanced down.

She then grasped his hand in hers.

He raised his head to look back at her.

“It’s going to be okay now.”

Spike hugged her again and flooded her face with kisses. He never wanted to let her go. “I’m so sorry.”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault, Spike. I don’t want you to blame yourself.”

Spike nodded again and pulled away to stare at her. It would be hard for him not to blame himself, but he felt better knowing that she didn’t.


* * * * *


Everyone was fussing over Buffy later that night.

Spike called to let them know that she was awake and they all immediately rushed over to the hospital.

The doctor had to usher them out of the room after a while, so Buffy could get some rest.

Spike was the only one that remained with her. He was lying next to her in the small bed.

She had her head resting against his chest.

Spike just finished telling her a story and the soothing tone of his voice put her to sleep easily. He looked down at his sleeping angel and placed a kiss on the top of her head, soon following her in slumber.


* * * * *


Buffy was released from the hospital two days later.

Spike was pushing her in the wheelchair.

“I don’t even know why I need this. I’m perfectly capable of walking.”

Spike shook his head as a smile formed on his face. God, he missed her. “It’s hospital orders, love. I’m sure you can walk fine on your own. I tried to talk them into letting me carry you, but they wouldn’t have it. You won’t need the chair once I get you home. I can carry you around everywhere if you like.”

Buffy laughed then.

It was music to his ears.

“Thanks for the offer, but I think I can walk.”

Spike shrugged, even though she couldn’t see him. “Suit yourself, but you’re not stopping me from carrying you up the stairs. Don’t want to risk you falling.”

Buffy didn’t even argue as they finally reached his car.

He helped her in and folded up the chair, putting it in the back of the car. He then got in on his side and was soon headed for home.


* * * * *


“Welcome back!” They all yelled once Buffy and Spike entered her house.

Buffy smiled at the fact that everyone she loved was there. She hugged her mother first, then the others. She smiled at Spike after she made all of her greetings.

He smiled in return.

It was really great to be home.


* * * * *


Spike headed back to the hospital a few days later. He had someone that he needed to see. He went to the desk in the lobby and waited for the woman sitting there to notice him.

She finally looked up and gave him a smile. “Can I help you?”

He nodded. “I’m looking for someone. His name is Matthew, not really sure of a last name. He’s a cancer patient here. I wanted to know what room he was in.”

The woman glanced at her chart, then back up at him. She now had a sad expression on her face. “You’re probably talking about Matthew Hayes. Were you a friend of his?”

Spike nodded and figured that he was. “I only met him a few times. He gave me some advice recently and I just wanted to thank him for it.”

The woman took a breath before she spoke again. “I’m sorry to say this, but Matthew passed away last night.”

Spike was now saddened by this news. He knew that Matthew probably didn’t have long by the way he was talking, but didn’t realize it would have been so soon. He only gave the woman a small smile. “Thank you,” he told her and was about to walk away, but her voice stopped him.

“Matthew’s parents are having a memorial service for him tomorrow afternoon in Restfield Cemetery. I just thought you would like to know.”

He nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you again.” Spike turned away and left the hospital, deciding that he would pay his respects. It was the least he could do.


* * * * *


Spike walked to the cemetery the next day, Buffy right by his side. He told her about Matthew and she decided to go with him.

They were standing in the back and watched the people that loved Matthew place flowers on his casket.

Spike noticed an older couple crying, the man holding the woman close to him. He had a feeling they were his parents.

Buffy gave his arm a squeeze, knowing what he was thinking.

Spike then walked over to the couple. He placed his own flowers on the casket that he picked up earlier, then turned to address Matthew’s parents. “Excuse me; are you Mr. and Mrs. Hayes?”

They looked up at him.

“Yes, we are. Did you know our boy?” Mr. Hayes wondered.

Spike nodded. “I met him at the hospital when I was visiting someone close to me. He helped me realize a few things and I was very grateful for that. He was really brave. I know that he loved you both very much.”

Mrs. Hayes cried even harder now.

Her husband rubbed her shoulders. “Thank you, son,” he said.

Spike nodded again and watched them both walk away.

Buffy joined him and grabbed his hand, speaking up after a moment of silence. “I wish I could have met him,” she said and in a way, felt that she did know him.

Spike gripped her hand tighter. “He was a great kid. Too young to die, but I know he’s in a better place.”

Buffy wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Let’s go home, Spike.”

He nodded and let her lead him out of the cemetery. Spike knew that Matthew was in a better place now. No matter what happened, he would never forget him.

Chapter 37

“Good morning, honey. How do you feel today?”

Buffy sighed and glanced at her mother, who was making breakfast. “I’m fine, just like I have been for the last three weeks since I got back from the hospital. Now, could you try and tell him that?”

Joyce smiled and shook her head. “Having problems?”

Buffy sat down at the counter. “I love Spike to death, but I’m going to kill him. He’s driving me insane. He wants to come with me everywhere. You don’t know how hard it was to talk him into not coming to school with me. Hey, this isn’t funny,” she said when her mother started to laugh. “I’m serious here, Mom. He talked about dropping out of college, so he could go to school with me full time.” She pouted and looked at the clock on the microwave. “He should be here in about five, four, three, two...” She pointed to the back door; right before Spike came strolling into the house.

He just graced them with a smile.

Buffy glared at her once again laughing mother. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re just loving this.”

Spike didn’t know what they were talking about and walked over to Buffy, placing a kiss on the top of her head. “Morning, what’s for breakfast?” he said and was confused when Buffy dropped her head onto the counter. She was mumbling something that he couldn’t make out and looked to Joyce for help. “Was it something I said?”

Joyce only smiled and went back to the pancakes that she was making.


* * * * *


“I’ve got it all worked out, love,” Spike explained, following Buffy into her room. “I can join you at school in the morning because I don’t have classes, until the afternoon. Then I can go to my classes and still make it back to your school before you get out.” He started talking about what else he could do, but Buffy just about had enough.

She threw her hands up in the air. “Spike, you really have to stop this. I love you, but you’re giving me a migraine,” she told him and sat down on her bed, rubbing her head in the process.

Spike was concerned and sat down next to her. “Your head hurts? Do you need some aspirin?”

Buffy groaned and glanced back at him. “I don’t need aspirin. I need you to leave me alone.” She felt guilty when she noticed the hurt look on his face. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I just mean that all of this is too much. I love that you always want to be with me, but it’s just not possible. I’m a big girl, Spike. I can take care of myself, been doing it way before you came into my life. I’m grateful for everything that you’ve done for me, but you need to give me some space here. You can’t go with me to school. How would that look? My reputation is already bad enough as it is.”

Spike turned away from her.

Buffy grabbed his hand. “I’m not trying to hurt you, sweetie. You have to realize that following me around everywhere is a little crazy. Hey, look at me.”

He finally raised his eyes to hers again.

She caressed his cheek. “I’m right here, Spike. I promise I’m not going away anytime soon. I’m not going to disappear just because you’re not around. I’ll always be here, okay?”

Spike took a deep breath. “Yeah, I know that. I just worry about you.”

Buffy nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “I like that you worry. You just need to not worry so much.”

Spike agreed and felt embarrassed when he thought about the way he behaved the last few weeks. “I guess I did get a little crazy.”

Buffy laughed and rolled her eyes. “A little crazy? You’ve been coming over every morning to make sure that I got out of bed okay, then you picked out the clothes for me to wear that day. I would say that’s more than a little crazy.”

Spike shrugged and didn’t realize he was that bad. “I just didn’t want you to wear anything too revealing. That could lead to trouble.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows. “You have seen my closet, right? I have clothes that nuns could wear. There’s hardly anything revealing. You wanna find something slutty, look in Harmony’s closet. I only wore that outfit she loaned me once. I gave it right back and I’m never touching her clothes again.”

Spike smiled and put his arm around her. “It did look pretty good on you, but you could wear a garbage bag and still be the most gorgeous woman ever.”

Buffy blushed at his comment.

Spike loved that he still had that effect on her. “Well, I best be off now,” he said suddenly and stood up.

“You’re leaving already?”

Spike smiled at her. “I wouldn’t want to crowd you. I might see you later today, or maybe I won’t. I happen to be pretty busy,” he told her with a wink, then left the room.

She glared at his retreating back. He was truly evil sometimes.


* * * * *


Buffy was moping downstairs later that day, bored out of her mind.

“I didn’t think he would actually take me this seriously. I just didn’t want him to come to school with me. He could have stayed here a little longer.”

Dawn rolled her eyes and was trying to watch a movie, but Buffy’s sulking was starting to get to her. “You could just go next door.”

Buffy shook her head. “I’m so not giving in. He’ll be back eventually.” She tried to convince herself.

Dawn nodded and continued to watch the television.

Buffy couldn’t get into it and had enough about an hour later. “This is ridiculous. I’m just gonna go over there,” she said and stood up, heading to the front door. She opened it and found Spike on the other side.

He gave her a smile. “You wanna get out of the house for a bit?”

Buffy smiled back at him. “God, yes,” she replied and grabbed her jacket, walking out of the house with him.

Dawn rolled her eyes again as she watched her sister leave with her boyfriend. “I must be the only normal one in this family,” she said to herself and went back to her movie, happy to finally have some alone time.

Chapter 38

“Why did I have to wear a tux? This bloody thing itches.”

Giles rolled his eyes for the millionth time. “Would you quit complaining?”

Spike was about to respond, when Buffy’s name was finally called.

Everyone cheered as she walked on stage and took her diploma.

Spike stood up and whistled.

She smiled and waved at them, then blew Spike a kiss and walked off of the stage.

He smiled and sat back down.

Buffy was happy to finally be graduating. She didn’t have the best memories at that school and hoped her college experience would be a better one. She would be going to UC Sunnydale with Spike, who was in his junior year there.

Dawn just finished her junior year of high school and she couldn’t wait to be a senior.

Harmony realized that college wasn’t for her and moved to Los Angeles after her graduation. She was hoping to become an actress.

Riley chose to go to school there, so he could be closer to her.

Buffy smiled again when she saw her family and friends waiting for her after the ceremony. “I finally did it. Okay, someone hug me.”

Spike was the first one to step up and wrap his arms around her.

She laughed as he lifted her off of the ground a little.

“Congratulations, love,” he told her.

Joyce had tears in her eyes when she hugged Buffy. “I’m so proud of you, honey. I know you’re going to do great things.”

Buffy started to feel herself tear up as well. “I love you, Mom.”

Joyce kissed her cheek and pulled away to look at her daughter better. “I love you, too. Come on, we have a party to get to back home.”

Spike walked with Buffy, holding her hand in his. “So, how does it feel to finally be a high school graduate?”

Buffy flashed him a big smile. “It feels pretty damn good,” she commented, giving his hand a squeeze. “That suit looks sexy on you. Keep it for when we’re alone, I wanna be the one to take it off,” she told him with a smirk that made him proud.

“Vixen,” he responded and kissed her lips, then put his arm around her and headed to his car.


* * * * *


“Bloody hell, I don’t think I can move my legs,” Spike panted, gazing at Buffy lying next to him.

They were staying at a hotel for the night because they wanted to be alone.

“You may have crippled me, love.”

Buffy laughed and kissed his sweaty chest. “I think you’ll be fine. There’s plenty more where that came from,” she told him seductively.

Spike didn’t think that he would ever get used to this side of her, but he loved every second of it. “You’re going to bloody kill me here.”

She got on top of him and kissed his lips. “Yeah, but what a way to go.”

Spike grabbed her tighter and gave her a more passionate kiss, then softened the kiss and started to trail his lips down her neck. He sucked and licked at the smooth flesh that he found there. He would never get enough of her.

“God, Spike,” she moaned.

It just turned him on more. He had a feeling they wouldn’t be leaving the bed anytime soon.


* * * * *


They left the hotel room the next morning and were ready to check out.

Buffy stopped when she heard laughter a few doors down and knew that she recognized who it belonged to. She pulled Spike over to see if she was right and couldn’t believe the sight in front of her. “Dawn?” she said in shock.

Dawn stopped kissing her boyfriend when she was spotted. “Buffy, I didn’t know you would be here.”

Buffy looked at Dawn and then Connor, who was trying to avoid her gaze. It looked like he was about to leave, and Dawn was only wearing a sheet around her. It was obvious what they were doing and she didn’t know what to think about that. “What are you doing here?”

Dawn took a deep breath. “I told Mom that I was staying with a friend tonight, and then I met Connor here. It wasn’t planned or anything, it just kinda happened.”

Spike figured that he should let the sisters talk, so he grabbed Connor by the arm and pulled him away. “I want a word with you,” he told the boy, who now looked afraid.

Buffy turned back to Dawn once they were gone. “Get dressed; I can’t talk to you like that.”

Dawn nodded and went back into the room. She came out a few minutes later fully clothed, and they decided to go for a walk.

“You shouldn’t have lied to Mom. It’s just hard for me to believe that my little sister came to a hotel to have sex. I never would have expected this from you.”

Dawn rolled her eyes and figured she would get a lecture. “I told you it wasn’t planned. We both decided that we were ready. I mean, you’re really one to talk. You lost your virginity when you were younger than me, and Harmony was way younger than that. I don’t think I did anything wrong. We both knew what we were doing.”

Buffy nodded and tried to stay calm as she asked her next question. “Were you safe?”

Dawn stopped walking to look at her. “Of course we were. I’m not stupid, and Connor is clean before you say anything. He hasn’t been with anyone before me. We love each other, Buffy. I was ready and couldn’t imagine my first time being with anyone else. I think it’s amazing that Connor would wait for me. He never pressured me or anything. I know he can get on everyone’s nerves sometimes, but he’s a really good guy. He was so gentle with me and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so loved before. It’s kinda like what you have with Spike, except not as kinky. I’m sure you guys are hardly gentle at this point.” She laughed when Buffy shoved her.

“Hey, we are plenty gentle.”

Dawn grinned when she noticed something. “Right, would that happen to be handcuffs in your pocket?”

Buffy blushed and turned away from Dawn’s gaze. “Okay, shut up,” she mumbled.

They started to walk again.

“I don’t even wanna know. If you keep this a secret from Mom, I won’t tell her about that little detail.”

Buffy glared at her. “Fine, I won’t say anything. You’re so evil.”

Dawn gave her a big smile now. “Yeah, I know. That’s what makes me special.”

Buffy smiled in return and put her arm around her sister. “One of the many things,” she replied, then went in search of their boyfriends.

Chapter 39

“Spike, what did you say to him? Connor has never been that quiet before,” Dawn stated as the three of them were headed for home.

“I didn’t say anything.”

She wasn’t convinced. “You threatened him, didn’t you?”

Buffy was trying not to laugh.

“I was only looking out for you, bit. We had a nice conversation and I told him that they would be finding his body for weeks if he ever hurt you.”

Dawn’s eyes bulged. “Spike!” she yelled in a high pitched voice that would have made anyone’s ears bleed. “Tell me you didn’t say that? You probably scared him away.”

Spike laughed and looked at a grinning Buffy. “Your sister is too bloody easy.”

Buffy nodded in agreement.

Dawn crossed her arms over her chest, figuring that she wouldn’t get anything else out of him.


* * * * *


Two months later...

“Are you sure?”

Buffy nodded. “Yeah, I’ve known for a week now. I couldn’t keep it a secret anymore,” she said and sat down on her bed.

Willow sat beside her. “When are you going to tell Spike?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. At first I didn’t want to say anything, until I knew for sure. I know I have to tell him. I’m just not sure how to do that. He’s going to freak and it might not be in a good way.”

Willow wouldn’t believe that. “I think he’ll be fine, Buffy. You already know it’s something that he wants. I know it’s kinda soon, but I think it’ll work out.”

Buffy gave her friend a smile and really hoped that she was right.


* * * * *


“We really need to talk.”

Spike had a worried expression on his face. “Nothing good ever starts with that sentence.”

Buffy grabbed his hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “Well, I hope you would think it’s good.” She took a deep breath before telling him the rest. “Spike, I’m pregnant.” She expected him to be shocked, but wasn’t prepared for the laughter.

“Very funny, Buffy. I’m not going to fall for that again. What did you really want to say?” He noticed that she wasn’t laughing and the smile quickly faded from his face. “You’re serious?”

“I found out last week. I didn’t know how to tell you. I have to say that wasn’t how I expected you to react.” She turned away from him, having no idea that he would think she was kidding. She only really did that once before.

Spike realized that he probably should have handled it better and wrapped his arms around her waist. “We’re going to have a baby?” he said after a minute of silence.

Buffy nodded, taken by surprise when he yelled and lifted her off of the ground.

“I’m going to be a father!”

She laughed at his excitement.

He put her down and planted a firm kiss on her mouth.

“So, I take it you’re okay with this?”

Spike couldn’t keep the smile off of his face now. “Of course I’m okay with this. I’m sorry for how I reacted. I just never expected this to happen yet. Are you okay with it?” He needed to make sure that it was also something that Buffy wanted. She would be the one carrying the child, after all.

“Yeah, I am. It’s not something I planned on happening right now, but it’s something that I really want.”

Spike hugged her and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “You have made me the happiest bloke in the world, you know that?”

Buffy nodded against his chest, then glanced up at him after a few seconds.

He wondered why she looked so worried, but didn’t have to wonder for long.

“How are we going to tell our parents? My mom might disown me, and I can already picture Giles cleaning his glasses enough to break the lens. I have a feeling they won’t be as happy about this.”

Spike hugged her again, running his fingers through her hair. “It’ll all work out, love. They’ll be surprised at first, but they’ll come around in the end. Your mum would never disown you.”

Buffy knew that he was right and really wished she could have his confidence. She hoped her mother would take it well.


* * * * *


“Buffy, are you okay? You haven’t said anything since we talked to our parents. I’m starting to get worried here.”

Buffy finally came back to reality at the sound of his voice. “My mom was abducted. That’s the only thing that could explain what just happened. That was not my mother.”

Spike laughed and shook his head at her imagination. “I have a feeling that was really her.”

Buffy was having a hard time believing it. “She didn’t yell or tell me how irresponsible I am for getting pregnant at a young age. She just accepted it and said congratulations. I didn’t even see Giles clean his glasses, or clear his throat once. I’m telling you, they can’t be our parents.”

Spike wrapped his arms around her. “I think they just finally realized that we’re not little kids anymore. I told you everything would work out.”

Buffy nodded and raised her head to give him a kiss. “I love you.”

Spike smiled. “I love you, too. You and the little one. I’ll always be here for the both of you,” he claimed and touched her stomach, still finding it hard to believe that his baby was growing inside of her. He was definitely the luckiest man in the world.

Buffy placed her hand over his and thought about everything that had changed in her life. She never imagined that anything amazing could ever happen to her. She already decided that she would name the baby Matthew if it was a boy. Buffy had a feeling Spike would appreciate that.

Epilogue

“So, do you think she’ll like it?”

Xander looked over the diamond ring that his friend held. “It’s nice; I’m surprised you’re finally going to ask Buffy to marry you.”

Spike put the ring back in his pocket. “I wanted to wait for the right time.”

“And you think the right time is when she’s almost nine months pregnant?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a lecture from you, Harris. Everyone has been pestering me about proposing to Buffy after she got pregnant, but I figured dealing with a wedding on top of having a baby would have been too much. So, I decided to wait. It’s Valentine’s Day and I think this would be the perfect time to ask her.”

Xander nodded. “I guess that’s a good idea. Valentine’s Day is the most romantic day of the year. So I’ve been told. God, I hope Anya isn’t expecting anything really special. All I can really afford these days is a bouquet of roses and possibly a box of her favorite chocolates.”

Spike patted his friend on the back. “Good luck with that,” he said and walked out of Xander’s apartment, deciding to make a stop at the nearest flower shop before returning to Buffy.


* * * * *


“Where’s Spike?” Buffy asked, continuing to take deep breaths.

“He should be here soon, honey. Just keep breathing,” her mother said.

Buffy nodded and felt another contraction go through her. She yelled and squeezed the hand that she was holding tighter.

Dawn looked out the window. “Spike just pulled up,” she told them.

“Thank god, he should be the one doing this. I think she broke my hand,” Connor complained and winced as Buffy squeezed his hand again.

They just ignored him.

“All right, it’s time to go to the hospital,” Joyce claimed and helped Buffy up.

Spike then ran into the room after hearing Buffy’s screams from outside. “Is everything okay?” he wondered.

Dawn glanced at him. “Buffy’s in labor,” she said and helped her sister.

Spike immediately went to her side.

Connor sighed in relief when Buffy let him go. “At least we’re going to the hospital,” he said, inspecting his injured hand.

Dawn rolled her eyes. “You’re such a baby.”

They finally managed to get Buffy downstairs and into Spike’s car.

“Get her there safely, we’ll follow behind soon.”

Spike nodded at Joyce and drove away.

Joyce went back inside the house. She had a few phone calls to make.


* * * * *


“You’re doing great, love.”

Buffy was breathing hard and didn’t think she could take much more. It felt like she had been in labor for days, instead of only a few hours. “It hurts too much,” she responded and lay back in the bed.

Spike brought her hand to his lips, giving it a tender kiss. “You can do it, sweetheart.”

“That’s right, Buffy. Just give us one more push.”

Buffy nodded at the doctor’s words and really hoped she could do it. She pushed with all that she had in her and yelled at the intense pain. It took away a lot of her energy and lay back when she was done, completely exhausted. The sound of her baby crying brought more tears to her eyes.

The baby was taken and cleaned off.

Spike brushed the sweaty hair out of Buffy’s face. “You did it, pet,” he said, tears in his eyes as well.

She looked up at him. “We did it.”

He gave her a smile and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

The doctor walked back over to them. “Congratulations, you have a beautiful, baby boy,” he said and placed the baby into his mother’s arms.

Buffy couldn’t stop the tears from falling now as she gazed upon her child.

Spike gazed at his family with pride, not believing that he had a son.

“Hey there, little guy. You decided to grace us with your presence a bit early,” she said to the baby.

“He’s very special indeed. Being born on Valentine’s Day.”

Buffy smiled at the doctor, then looked at Spike. “I didn’t even realize that.”

“Well, you’ve been pretty busy,” he replied.

Buffy nodded and stared back at the bundle in her arms.

“Have you thought about any names, love? We haven’t really talked about it.”

Buffy smiled again and figured it was about time that she told him her choice for a name. “I was thinking about naming him Matthew. If that’s okay with you.”

Spike smiled as well. “Yeah, I think that’s perfect.”


* * * * *


“Well, you should be lucky that he didn’t get your nose.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at her sister’s comment. “Thanks, Harmony. I really appreciate that.”

“She has a cute nose,” Spike stated, with a glare at the blonde.

Buffy gave him a grateful smile.

They all took turns seeing the baby because only a few were allowed in the room at once.

Spike was watching over Buffy after everyone left. Matthew was taken to where all the other babies were, and he was left alone with his thoughts.

Buffy finally opened her eyes after only resting for about an hour, looking up at Spike. “Hey,” she said in a sleepy voice.

“Hey yourself,” he responded.

“Why do you look so serious? That’s never a good thing.”

Spike smiled and walked over to her. “I just still can’t believe that any of this has happened. You’ve given me everything I could ever want, but there’s just one thing missing.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows. “I think it’s a bit soon to have another kid.”

Spike laughed and shook his head. “Not that I wouldn’t love having another child with you, that’s not what I’m talking about.”

Buffy was about to say something else, when a black box suddenly appeared in front of her. It revealed a beautiful, diamond ring. She gasped and looked up at the serious expression on Spike’s face.

He took a deep breath. “The baby coming early kind of put my plans on hold, but I think this just makes it even more perfect. You’re my entire world, Buffy. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. Will you marry me?”

Buffy definitely wasn’t expecting a proposal, but she had no doubts about what her answer would be. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” she replied and again had tears coming down her face.

Spike smiled and took the ring out of the box, sliding it on her finger, then enveloping her in a hug. “You’ve made me the happiest man on earth.” He pulled away to give her a sweet kiss on the lips.

“I love you,” she whispered.

He planted kisses all over her face, then buried his head in her hair. “I love you, too. So bloody much.”

Buffy held him tighter, no more words needed to be said.

That’s how Joyce and Giles found them a few minutes later. They smiled at the display of both of their children, still not believing how grown up they were now.

Joyce was happy that her little girl finally found everything that she had ever wanted. Buffy used to be so shy and insecure about everything. She never believed that anyone could ever love her. Joyce was just relieved that her daughter found everything in Spike. She knew that he would always be there for her. He was nothing like Hank, and that was a very comforting thought.

Giles was just as happy for his son. William needed a good woman in his life, and no one made him as happy as Buffy did. He knew that Jenny would be very proud of the man that William was becoming.

Both of the adults finally walked away and decided to give the new family some privacy.

They had been through so much together, but things were bound to only get better from there. When you find the one that you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with, nothing else seems to matter.

The End


I’m not that sure about the ending, but that’s all I could think of. Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you all spend it with the one’s you love=)