Disclaimer: Joss owns it all; I’m just borrowing things for a while to keep myself busy.







The house was dark and quiet save for the soft sound of snoring filtering down the hallway from her younger sister’s room. It was a peaceful scene, or at least, it should have been. The petite blond lying on the bed staring at the ceiling while clutching a stuffed pig tightly to her chest hadn’t had a peaceful night in weeks. There had been quite a few slow nights though. Her evening patrols consisted mostly of taking her stake for a tour of the cemetery and returning home after her sister was asleep. Apparently, the latest near end of the world experience was affecting even the demon community of Sunnydale.

Things had changed after she and Dawn had climbed out of the pit in the cemetery. Dawn was training with the Slayer with a commitment that Giles would have given anything to have seen in Buffy at her age. Surprisingly, after all the effort she had gone to keeping her sister away from the darker aspects of her life, Dawn turned out to be a natural when it came to fighting. Not that she had actually proven her skill against a vampire. Dawn was quite capable of taking care of herself, but Buffy wasn’t quite ready to put that fact to the test.

Even the Scoobies’ lives seemed to be improving. Giles had returned to England shortly after the final battle taking Willow with him. Even after their conflict in the Magick Shop, Buffy hadn’t really wanted to see her friend go, but she knew it was in the ex-witch’s best interests to go. She need to be with people who could help her get over the magic addiction for good, and getting away from Sunnydale with all its bad memories could only help the healing process. As promised, Giles called her every three to four days and kept them informed of Willow’s progress. She was still hurting over the loss of Tara and was slowly coming to terms with the magic blow out and what she had done while under the dark power’s influence. She was healing, but she was nowhere near out of the woods yet.

The tension between Anya and Xander was slowly dissipating. They were far from couple status, but they seemed to really be trying to work out their problems. Although, Anya’s renewed demon existence was proving to be a major hurtle. Xander hadn’t actually said anything, but they all knew he would have preferred to have the old, non-demon version of his girlfriend back. Anya, on the other hand, had been quite vocal about the fact that she intended to stay a vengeance demon.

Life wasn’t perfect, but for a change things were improving. Buffy should have been happy, anyone who saw her would have said she was. She’d gotten fairly good at putting on a happy face for the world in the past few months, but she was anything but cheerful.

She was able to keep herself busy taking care of Dawn and working during the day, but it was at night when he bothered her. No matter how hard she tried not to, her thoughts always returned to Spike. Her dream Spike was even more insistent on pestering her than the real thing had been.

She had been more than surprised the night Clem had told her Spike had left town. She had told him to go away so many times, and he always came back. Things were so much worse between them than she had ever thought possible, but she really thought she could depend on him. She should have known better, she hadn’t treated him with even a quarter of the kindness she had shown Angel or even Riley, and they had left her.

She knew she should have been furious, angry at the very least, and she had been, but now she wasn’t even sure what she felt. Xander was right. She had forgotten the fact that he may have been chipped, but he still was a demon. She knew he loved her, and she had used him. It h ad only been a matter of time before his demon side emerged.

She knew she shouldn’t, her friends would definitely say she had lost her mind, but she missed him. She couldn’t help but remember the moments they had together—the ones not filled with fighting or violent sex—how he had looked at her his eyes filled with concern as she had descended the stairs the night she had come back, how he had told her he loved her and made love to her that night Riley came back with his new commando wife in tow. All the times, he had been gentle, and she had conveniently pushed the fact that he was a vampire to the back of her mind.

“Stop it, Buffy!” she scolded herself flipping over to her side and pulling her knees up to her chest. She had to stop obsessing over the bleached vamp before she really did go insane. He wasn’t coming back, and wherever he was, he was probably only thinking of ways to kill the Slayer, not how to make things up to Buffy.





Dawn left her hand fall limply to her side. She had gotten out of bed and come down the hall wanting to comfort her older sister, but at the sound of the Slayer’s voice filled with so much frustration, she though better of it. She knew her sister well enough to know she wouldn’t open up when she was this upset.

Buffy was making a huge effort to make their lives happy, but she knew it was all an act. She always pretended to be asleep, but she knew how her sister would sneak into the house every night after patrolling and almost always cry herself to sleep. She knew the reason why, and she missed him too. Dawn knew she should hate Spike for what he had tried to do, but after all he had done to protect and take care of her, it was hard to despise him. It was even harder to believe he would just take off without trying to explain, without at least telling her goodbye.

She was upset, but Buffy was miserable. She wasn’t sure what at this point, but she had to do something.





“Anya, can I talk to you?” Dawn leaned against the new counter of the Magick Shop trying hard to hide how nervous she felt. They really hadn’t talked about the incident that had occurred at the shop. She was sure Anya and Xander had discussed it, but the rest of them had avoided it.

“About what?” Anya asked placing the money she had been counting back into the register and taking great care to make sure the drawer was shut securely before turning to face the teenager. “Is there a problem with one of the customers?”
“Actually,” she replied slowly, “it doesn’t have anything to do with the shop.”

“It doesn’t?” she tiled her head to the side giving Dawn a questioning look. “Then was did you want to…”

“Spike,” Dawn interrupted speaking quickly. “Actually, Spike and Buffy.”

“Oh,” the demon sighed her gaze focused on her red painted nails as she tapped them tensely on the counter. “I…I really don’t think that we should talk about that, Dawn. I really don’t want to get into the middle of that again. What we did, it was…it was…”

“I know, Anya. I’m not blaming you for anything. I was just wondering, if someone wants revenge on somebody, you’d know, right?”

“Well, yes,” she replied felling a little more at ease. “I can hear a woman wishing for vengeance almost anywhere. There are quite a few of us, so I don’t answer every call, but I still hear them.”

The younger girl sighed as her brown eyes rolled towards the ceiling. “I was wondering if you might have heard anything from Buffy?”
“Buffy?” Anya paused to think a moment. “Now that you mention it, no I haven’t, and if anyone had a reason to want to get a little revenge, it would be the Slayer. I can’t tell you haw many women I’ve seen in her position. There was this one girl in the nineteenth century…”

Dawn nodded her head periodically as Anya continued her story knowing she’d never notice the far away look in her eyes and realize she was no longer listening. She wasn’t surprised that Buffy hadn’t wished revenge on Spike. She had a feeling her sister was locking herself in her room because she missed the vampire, and Anya’s answer confirmed her suspicions.

“Anya, would you mind if I told the afternoon off?” she asked turning so quickly she nearly tipped over the stool next to her. “There’s something I need to do.”

“Well,” she looked rather annoyed at being interrupted, “I guess not, but I’ll have to dock your pay.”

“No problem,” she tossed over her shoulder as she crossed the shop heading for the door. “See you tomorrow!”









“Clem?” Dawn burst through the door of the crypt, entering much like her sister used to when visiting the crypt’s previous owner.

“Dawn,” the wrinkled demon jumped from the old chair, which he had moved way too close to the tiny black and white television set. He looked surprised to see her considering she was usually working at Anya’s shop at that time of day. He also looked rather nervous, but then again, Clem looked nervous even when he was happy. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Dawn smiled at the baggy demon.

“Oh,” Clem sighed relaxing a bit, but his eyes still darted about nervously. “I wasn’t really expecting company, but I think I have some Cheese Whiz if you’re hungry.”

The demon shuffled over to the banged up little refrigerator sitting by the wall of the crypt and began to rummage through its contents. Dawn had helped him haul the castoff fridge to the crypt to store his newfound favorite snack. It didn’t work all that well, but for a demon living in a crypt with its only source of electricity being stolen by tapping into the wires running to the nearby houses, it was a luxury. She would have to remember to ask him who was the electrical genius that had been working on wiring cemeteries when she didn’t have more pressing issues on her mind.

“Um, I think I’ll pass,” she replied. Thoughts of the last time her friend had gotten the munchies flashed through her mind, and it was far from appetizing. “I just really wanted to ask you something.”

“Oh, okay,” he gave her a weak smile as he popped his head over the fridge door. “You know I’ll try to help you out if I can. New demon in town? Do you want me to do a little recon for the Slayer?”

“No, nothing like that,” her fingers clutched the back of the moth eaten chair as she spoke. “I just wanted to know if you’ve heard from Spike.”

Clem closed the refrigerator door and stared at the appliance for a moment before he spoke. “Spike? Heard from him? No, I haven’t talked to him since he left.”

“Are you sure?” Dawn pushed. “It’s really important.”

“I’d remember if he’d gotten in touch,” he answered quickly. “I’d tell you if he did. I really would.”

“Yeah, I know,” she sighed, “but, Clem, do you think you might be able to get a message to him?”

“A message? I don’t know where he went. He was really angry when he left. He didn’t day where he was going.”

“Come on,” Dawn told him, “I know you can’t just pick up the phone, but you’re a demon. I’m sure you can get a message to him.”

“Well, I might be able to,” he replied wringing his hands together and stretching the loose skin of his fingers taunt as he did so. “Why is it so important to get in touch with him?”

“He needs to come back,” Dawn stated sharply.

“Come back?” the demon shook his head causing his long ears to flop about. “I don’t think so. The Slayer wouldn’t want him back in Sunnydale.”

“That’s just it. She wouldn’t say it,” she added, “but she wants to see him again.”

“You mean she’s not angry with him?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Dawn replied with a small smile. “She’s not really happy with him, but I think she misses him more. Listen, just do what you can, please? They really need to talk, and I think it will make Buffy feel better.” With that the girl turned from the demon and exited the crypt leaving the door swing shut behind her without waiting for Clem’s answer.

“See?” Clem spoke to the shadows in the far corner of the crypt. “I told you that you should just go talk to her. She misses you.”

“It’s not that easy, mate,” the shadows answered back.

Clem watched the blond vampire cross the room and slump into the battered chair. He seemed tired since he had returned from Africa, and he seemed even more so after the Slayer’s sister had visited. He had expected his friend to return to the Hellmouth sans chip prepared to rid the world of the Slayer once and for all. Instead of wreaking a bloody vengeance, Spike had hid in the crypt, and if it was possible he was even more obsessed with the Slayer than when he had left.

“But you want to see her again. Even I can see that,” the floppy demon insisted. “She and Dawn miss you. So what are you waiting for?”

Spike put a cigarette to his kips and lit it. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled a cloud of white smoke slowly before answering. “Upset that she didn’t put a stake through my heart before I left would be more like it.”

“She really wouldn’t do that,” Clem replied. “She really cared for you. Anybody could see it.”

“Anybody, except her,” he replied. There was a far away look in his blue eyes as if he were losing himself in memories of better times. He tended to do that quite often since returning, and Clem worried that the discussion was over.

“After what I did, love is the last thing she would want from me, he sighed his expression hardening as more disturbing memories entered his mind.

“But she misses you,” Clem pushed. "You should talk to her, apologize, talk things out.”

“This isn’t exactly a talking things out sort of problem, mate,” he told his friend as he took one last drag off the cigarette. Spike tossed the still smoldering butt to the floor and stomped it out with the heel of his scuffed combat boot as he made his way across the crypt to the trapdoor leading to the lower level.

“So what do you plan to do?” Clem asked before the vampire could disappear through the hole in the floor. “Sit around the crypt and watch TV all night?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Spike told him curtly as he descended the ladder.

“What about the Slayer?” he called after the vampire. “She needs you.”

“I’m the last thing she needs,” Spike’s voice floated up through the hole. “She’ll move on and take care of herself. She always does.”

Clem shook his head as he returned to the fridge and pulled out one of the many cans of Cheese Whiz from the upper shelf. “Thick headed vampire,” he muttered before filling his mouth with a large does of cheese.







*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*







Buffy twirled her stake aimlessly about her fingers, as her eyes scanned the empty cemetery—not that she actually expected to see anything. She had been patrolling the cemetery for over an hour, and she hadn’t even seen a disturbed grave much less a real dead vampire. She hated nights like this. She was so tired of spending her evenings roaming about an empty graveyard moping about that damned missing vampire.

She should be glad that he was gone. A sigh passed her lips sounding more like a groan as she tucked her stake into the pocket of her shorts. It was a good thing that he left. She needed to concentrate on getting her life in order, making their home as close to normal as it could be for Dawn, and most of all, she needed to stop obsessing. If only she could come across a single baddie, even a fledgling would do. A good spot of violence was just what she needed to take her mind off things.

“Help me!” The scream came like an answer to her prayers. “Somebody help me!”

Buffy sprinted across the cemetery pulling the stake out of her pocket as she leapt over a low-lying gravestone. Almost instantly, she found herself rounding the crypt Spike once called home. It was so convenient that she would find her first fight in weeks behind this place, She almost expected to find him, now chipless, with fangs bared ready to rip apart some innocent Sunnydale citizen, Quickly, she pushed the thought from her mind. It was time she remembered that she was the Slayer, and not some love struck teenager.

She almost felt relief as she reached the back of the crypt to find a group of vamps, all three with backs turned, too busy traumatizing a rather attractive although extremely terrified young man. He was dressed in a blue denim shirt and a rather snug pair of jeans. From his appearance, he must have spent the evening at the Bronze. He must of have been new to Sunnydale. She would have remembered seeing him around. Besides, most long term residents of the ‘Dale knew better than using the cemetery as a route home after sunset.

“Focus, Buffy!” she scolded herself. She couldn’t believe she was checking him out! Had she completely forgotten she was the Slayer? This wasn’t a special on location episode of The Dating Game!

The sound of her voice was enough to distract the three. When the blond of the trio turned to face her, she actually felt a tinge of regret to see, while similar in features, it was definitely not the vampire she had hoped. Buffy gave her head a quick shake angry with herself for her momentary distraction.

“Look guys,” the blond laughed running the tip of his tongue over his sharp, yellow fangs, “and we thought we’d have to hunt down dessert.”

Buffy returned the creature’s smile. She was going to enjoy this! She’d miss the quirky little pre-slaying banter, especially with the few vampires left who didn’t recognize that she was the Slayer.

“Oh boys,” she sighed twirling the stake about her slender fingers, “didn’t your sire ever tell you not to play with your food?”

The young man leaning against the crypt wall cringed, his eyes growing wide at her response. It was obvious she wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when he was screaming for a savior, and he was probably wondering why she hadn’t taken off across the cemetery at the sight of the lumpy beasts before her. This thought didn’t seem to faze the vampires—it never did—as the one to Buffy’s right burst out laughing at her response.

“We’ve got a funny one,” the third that seemed to have forgotten the importance of bathing even after death growled. “What happened to the running and screaming? I love it when the scream!”

“She’ll be screaming soon enough,” the blond assured his companion taking a slow step towards the Slayer.

“Actually, you’re going to be the one screaming. Like a girl, if I don’t miss my guess.”

With that the Slayer made her move. You could only make small talk for so long. The heel of her boot connected with the blonde’s chin with a satisfying crack. He was up again quickly. She blocked his barrage of swings easily, and swung the stake in for the kill. She couldn’t help but wonder why the other two had yet to jump in to help their comrade, but after all her years slaying, she knew vampires were far from a loyal lot.

The moment she took her attention away from her assailant, she was blinded by a glaring white light. Buffy clutched her stake tighter. There was no falling sensation, but she knew she was dying again. She should have been happy. She could still remember what it had been like—she would always remember—but she couldn’t be happy. As badly as she had wanted to return last fall, she knew she couldn’t leave now. Dawn needed her, and Spike wouldn’t be around to take care of her this time.

Almost as quickly as it came the light dissipated, and she found herself back behind the crypt. The vampires were gone, and their would be victim sat in the thick grass leaning against the stone wall still trembling with fear.

“O…kay,” her eyelids fluttered as she adjusted to the dim light. “You didn’t happen to see where they went?”

His eyes darted about as if searching for the missing demons as he struggled to his feet. Buffy couldn’t see any injuries, but he was still quite shaken up. “I…uh…no,” he answered. “How did you do that?”

“Um, oh that?” she answered slowly. “Um, self-defense class. Listen, if you’re okay, I’ve got to get going. You might want to get out of the cemetery. Those guys might still be lurking about somewhere.”

She didn’t wait foe a reply. It was better not to stick around for deeper explanations. Besides, it was getting late, and Dawn should have gone to bed by now.

“Hey!” Buffy sighed hearing footsteps behind her. “I really wanted to thank you.”

“Not necessary,” she replied continuing on her path out of the cemetery. “Just part of the job…”

“The job?” he sounded more confused as he placed a hand on her arm. She quickly shoved the stake behind her back as she stopped to face him. “Listen, really, I need to thank you somehow.”

“Really,” she gave him a weak smile, “you don’t need to thank me.”

“Yes, I do,” he insisted. “A beautiful girl saves my life, it’s mandatory that I take her out for coffee. I’m Ryan by the way.”

She could feel her cheeks begin to burn red. It had been so long since she had met a good-looking guy who was also sweet. “I’m Buffy.”

“Buffy,” Ryan repeated as if testing out the sound of it. “Well, Buffy, my warrior princess, would you care to join me for a little refreshment?”

“Well, I suppose I could spare the time for one cup,” she laughed. It would be nice to spend an evening not obsessing over Spike.

“Shall we then?” he gave her a smile as he offered her his arm.

Dawn entered the kitchen slowly. She was half afraid to see what she might find within the room. The night before had been rather unnerving. Buffy had come home late as usual, but instead of the usual crying and tossing and turning that had become standard since Spike had left, she had grabbed a shower and then went to bed. She wasn’t positive, but she could have sworn she had heard her sister humming as she had crossed the hall to her bedroom.



She had gotten up at her usual time that morning, and had been surprised to see Buffy’s door open and her bed empty as she had walked down the hall to the bathroom. Her sister was hardly ever out of bed before she got up. Something had happened while Buffy had been on patrol, and she could only hope it had something to do with Spike. She’d definitely have to stop by the crypt before she went to the Magick Shop.



“Buffy?” Dawn said softly as she entered the kitchen. Buffy was sitting by the counter munching on a bagel and browsing the want ads.



“Hey, Dawn,” Buffy looked up from the paper and gave her sister a broad smile. “I didn’t hear you get up. Want me to make you a bagel?”



“Sure,” she answered sitting down on the stool on the opposite side of the counter. Buffy was fully dressed and not in sweats, which had seemed to have become her usual morning attire of late. Her hair was perfect, and she even had taken the time to do her makeup. “So what’s up, Buffy?”



“What?” she asked looking a little surprised as she turned from the toaster. “I’d have to say nothing considering it’s first thing in the morning.”



“You know what I mean,” Dawn made a small gesture with her hand pointing out the Slayer’s outfit. “What’s with the new look?”



“What?” she looked down at her shirt as if looking for a spot or loose thread. “This is what I always wear.”



“Yeah, around noon maybe,” she replied with a smirk. “So what happened last night to make Buffy such a happy Slayer?”



“Nothing,” she answered quickly turning her attention to spreading a thick layer of cream cheese on the bagel. “Well, I did run into a few vamps. Ran off before I could dust ‘em though.”



“And?” she pressed.



“And what?” she asked innocently as she placed the bagel in front of her sister.



“A little slayage isn’t going to put you in this good of mood,” Dawn told her in between bites of bagel. “So who did you meet?”



“What makes you…Fine,” Buffy sighed. “I did meet someone.”



“So, he’s back?” she blurted out dropping the bagel on the plate. “Is he okay? Did he ask about me?”



“Dawn,” Buffy suddenly looked serious and even a little angry, “it wasn’t Spike.”



Dawn’s smile quickly faded. “It wasn’t?”



“He’s not coming back, Dawn. I know you miss him, but you’re going to have to face it. He’s gone.”



“But you miss him too,” she objected.



Buffy rolled her eyes towards the ceiling as she left out a long sigh. “Yeah, I do. I was furious with him for a long time, but I’ve had time to think about it. He’s a demon, and what would I expect a demon to do?”



“Yeah, but he was good too,” she protested. “He took care of me and you too when you came back.”



“I don’t know,” she sighed. “It might have been the chip, but whatever it was, I don’t think that part will let him come back. I’m sorry, Dawnie, it’s just not going to happen, but if it’s any consolation, I did meet someone.”



“Well,” actually no, she thought to herself, “I guess. Who did you meet?”



“Your enthusiasm is underwhelming,” she teased.



“No, I’m sorry,” Dawn plastered a smile on her face. “Really, who did you meet?”



“Well, his name is Ryan,” she replied looking happier than Dawn had seen her sister in a long time. “I was patrolling, and I heard this guy yelling for help…”



“He’s a vampire?” she cocked and eyebrow suspiciously.



“No!” Buffy snapped. “He was the blood suckee not the blood sucker. I saved him, and then we went out for coffee.”



“That’s great, Buffy,” she replied trying to keep the disappointment from her voice. “Um, I’d better get down to the Shop. Anya needs me to help her set up some displays. She has this idea for a back-to-school sale.”



“And no good student should start school without their eye of newt,” she laughed. “Go on, we’ll do the girl talk thing tonight.”





***





“So you’re back already?” Clem stopped short as he entered the crypt. He hadn’t expected to find the vampire anywhere near the cemetery today much less in his dusty, old chair siphoning down bourbon and watching reruns on the TV.



“Where else would I be, mate?” he growled wiping the back of his hand across his lips.



“I, um, thought…Buffy,” the demon stuttered obviously confused. This wasn’t anywhere near how the plan was supposed to go.



“What about the Slayer?” Spike snapped taking a large gulp from his bottle.



“She was here,” he replied quickly, “last night, right?”



“Yeah,” she was outside,” the vampire replied.



“Outside?” That wasn’t how it was supposed to go. “She didn’t come in?”



“She was a little preoccupied with slaying a bunch of vamps to pay a social call,” he grumbled.



“And you didn’t go out and help her?’ Clem pushed.



“Bloody hell, no!” Spike shot back gripping the neck of the bottle so tightly his hand shook. “She doesn’t want to see me, and she’s not going to. ‘Sides, she handled it just fine on her own.”



Spike shot him a cold glare and then focused his attention on the television set. Clem didn’t nee to be hit in the head with a rock. The conversation was over.



“I—I’m going out,” he told the vampire staring at the set as he crossed the crypt to the ladder. “I’ve, um, got to meet some guys.”



“Right, mate,” Spike mumbled his eyes not leaving the screen.





***





“So, the delivery has been made?” the blond vampire snapped.



“Yeah, it’s there,” the other replied. “Why don’t you do it next time? I don’t want to run into that Slayer again. Last night we were lucky!”



“The Master chose you to do it,” the blonde’s lips curled into a cruel smile, “and if you don’t follow His orders what he would do to you would make you beg for the Slayer.”



“Hey guys!” Clem called as he lumbered down the tunnel. “Working on the plan?”



“Yes, the plan,” the blond answered with a small laugh. “Of course we are working on it.”



“You didn’t do too hot last night,” he reminded them nervously.



“Hey, can we help it you’re boy wouldn’t come out and play,” the other vampire snapped. “We got our asses kicked!”



“Don’t worry,” the blond shot a glare at his companion then returned his attention back to the saggy-skinned demon. “The delivery was made. I’m sure your plan will work this time.”



“I hope so,” Clem sighed giving the two a hopeful grin.





***



“Clem?” Dawn pushed the crypt door open. She could hear the television outside so she didn’t bother knocking. “Clem, are you here?”



She could see the top of the demon’s head just over the back of the chair. “I need to talk to you about Buffy>’



Dawn jumped when Clem jumped from the chair followed closely by the sound of glass shattering on the stone floor. Her brown eyes grew wide when she realized who was standing before her.



“Spike?” she whispered. “You’re back?”



“Hey, Niblet,” he replied with a nervous smile.

The tension surging inside the crypt was so thick it was almost suffocating. Spike stood in the center of the room forcing himself to stay put. He wanted to escape into the tunnels, but he knew running away was pointless. The Bit had seen him. She would only follow him, hunting him down, until she got her explanation, and worse yet she’d tell big sis of his return.



“When did you get back?” the girl asked.



He was caught off guard. Her tone was firm, but not accusing. He knew Niblet wouldn’t be happy about him leaving Sunnydale, but he also expected her to be furious about what he had tried to do to Buffy before his departure. Perhaps she didn’t know. It really wasn’t something he could see the Slayer sharing, especially with her younger sister.



“Not too long ago,” he answered carefully. She wasn’t too happy with him to begin with, why push the issue by letting her know that he’d been holed up in this crypt for days without making his presence known.



“Why didn’t you let me know you were here?” She placed her small hands on her hips as she waited for answers. He hadn’t been back long, but she was fairly sure he had been here, hiding in the shadows, while she had talked to Clem. After she had mentioned how much Buffy had missed him, why hadn’t he revealed himself?



“I didn’t think I’d be too welcome,” he shrugged leaning over to retrieve his cigarettes from the chair trying to avoid meeting her gaze. He wished it was his bottle—he could have used a drink or five to get through this discussion.



“I wasn’t really happy that you left. We really could have used your help when Willow went all Wicked Witch of the West,” Dawn replied. Her face cringed a bit recalling the events that had transpired during the last would be Apocalypse. “I wanted to see you again though.”



“Yeah, I am sorry about that, Bit,” he told her as he lit his cigarette. Clem had filled him in on the happenings while he had been gone. He had felt guilty about his last encounter with Buffy, and this just made him feel a million times worse. He would have killed Warren himself for what he had done to Buffy and Tara no matter how excruciating the chip would have made it. “There was just something I had to do.”



“Something more important than helping us save the world again?” Dawn tapped her foot impatiently.



“Yeah, it was,” he answered quietly his gaze glued to the cigarette he rolled restlessly between the tips of his slender fingers.



Dawn’s gaze drifted over the vampire standing a few feet in front of her taking in the roots that were showing in his hair, the downcast eyes, and the slight trembling in his hands that made the occasional ash fall from the cigarette and flutter to cold stone floor. He was hiding something from her. That much was obvious. She knew him well enough that if she tried to push right now, he was only going to close up.



“Okay,” she replied slowly working out another plan of attack in her mind as she spoke. “So why didn’t you tell Buffy that you were back. I know you were here when I talked to Clem. So you know she misses you.”



“She doesn’t miss me,” he scoffed. “Not after…after …I…”



“I know what you did, Spike,” Dawn cut in.



“You know?” he gave her a blank stare. The Niblet knew what he had done, and she was standing here trying to convince him to see Buffy again. She must have hit her head pretty hard when she had fallen into that hole in the cemetery.



“Yeah, I know. Xander told me.” Anger flickered over his face. He should have known. He didn’t know how the whelp had found out, but leave it to him to air out all the nasties to the Bit. “And before you threaten to pull out his tongue or something, he didn’t mean to tell me. It was when we were running from Willow. We were all scared and upset, and it just came out. Besides, I would have found out sometime. Things have been going pretty well with Buffy and I, no more secrets. That includes the not so nice ones too.”



“So you know,” he sighed flicking his half smoked butt into the shadows in the corner of the crypt. “That means you know why I can’t go back.”



“But she misses you,” the girl objected crossing her arms over her small chest. “She was upset about it for a while, but she’s over it now. I know she would like to see you.”



Spike flopped back down on his chair and stared at the TV, speaking to her over his shoulder. “It’s not that easy, Bit. What I did…There’s no excuse for it. She doesn’t want to see me, not really anyway.”



“How about you let her decided that?” she insisted the frustration in her voice becoming more noticeable as she carried on the conversation with the back of his blond head. “If you’d just talk to her.”



“I can’t, Niblet,” he growled.



“No, you won’t,” she sighed. He could almost hear the look of disappointment she shot him in her voice. “You’re almost as stubborn as Buffy, but this is Sunnydale. She’ll find out eventually.”



He nearly turned to refute her claim, but Spike knew the girl was right. Sooner or later, Buffy was bound to find him, but right now he preferred that meeting to be later, much later. Instead he kept his blue eyes focused on the old set in front of him letting the girl know that the argument was over. It was pointless to continue. Nothing he could say would change her opinion. After a few moments, which seemed like hours to the vampire, he heard her sigh and then the sound of her footsteps as she left the crypt slamming the heavy door behind her with all the force that she could muster.



Spike sat stiffly in the chair while the sound of the closing door echoed softly off the stone walls of the tomb. He waited a moment wandering if she might come back. Exhaling a long unnecessary breath as he reached for his cigarettes for a second time, he silently cursed himself for getting caught. That was not the way he had expected their reunion to go. Actually, he had planned on there not being a reunion at all. He had only come to Sunnydale to keep an eye on them, make sure the two Summers girls were safe, but he never had any intention of revealing himself to either of them. Dawn was right though. Buffy would find out about him eventually, and he strongly doubted that their meeting would be nearly as amiable as Dawn’s had been.





***





Buffy looked about the porch scanning the bushes for any sign of intruders. She had been in the kitchen preparing something for dinner before Dawn returned home—okay, it was one of those prepackaged just add water deals, but it still counted. Just as she was opening the plastic bag of pasta, she had heard someone knock on the front door. She had played with the idea of staying in the kitchen hoping her visitor might decide to give up and go away, but she never knew when someone from Social Services might stop by to check up on them. It would be nice to be caught doing something domestic and responsible for a change, rather than trying to explain why her house was filled with lovesick vampires, lesbians, and magic herbs.



She had swung the door open plastering her most pleasant smile on her lips only to find no one waiting on the stoop. The porch was empty, and after further observation the judged the yard to be relatively people free.



“Jerks,” she grumbled shrugging her slight shoulders as she closed the door and returned to the kitchen. It must have been some kids with nothing better to do. Most demons in didn’t come within blocks of the Slayers home, and salesmen tended to keep their routes as far away from Sunnydale as possible.



She entered the kitchen and came to a sudden stop in the doorway. Her eyes grew wide as she looked about the room. It was empty and fairly quiet, save for the meat still sizzling on the stove where she had left it. The door was closed, and she could see no sign of any force. She would have heard the noise of it breaking off its hinges had someone tried to break in.



Satisfied that the room was empty, she approached the counter slowly, every muscle in her body tense just waiting for someone or thing to jump out at her. Everything seemed normal enough and the room was definitely empty, but that didn’t explain how the large spray of red roses had gotten on her counter.







TBC…

Dawn’s hands shook as she entered the house still reeling from the shock of finding Spike in the crypt. She was dying to tell Buffy he was back, but she had decided that she wouldn’t. If only she could make him see how much Buffy was hurting without him. It wasn’t guilt for using him, well not entirely.



She rounded the corner and entered the living room tossing her jacket on the end of the sofa. Buffy sat at the other end, her legs pulled up beneath her. The television was on, but instead of watching the show, the Slayer was looking at the arrangement of flowers sitting in the center of the coffee table. Next to it was a nearly empty pint of chocolate marshmallow ice cream. Apparently, she’d been there for a while.



“So where did the flowers come from?” she asked plopping down on the free end of the couch and helping herself to what was left of the ice cream.



“Not really sure,” Buffy replied with a shrug.



“You don’t know?” Her lips curved into a smile. Maybe she had gotten through to Spike after all. She had just left him, but maybe he had ordered the flowers before she had even found him in the crypt, or maybe he had sent Clem over with them.



“Well, no,” she answered smiling back. “It was probably Ryan. Who would have thought I’d actually meet a nice guy in the cemetery?”



“You think Ryan sent them?” Dawn asked studying the carton of ice cream in her hand so that her sister wouldn’t see her disappointment.



“Sure. He was so sweet last night,” the Slayer replied smiling at the memories of her impromptu date the night before. “Why? Do you think it might have been someone else?”



“No, I’m sure you’re right,” she lied as she placed the ice cream on the table suddenly not feeling all that hungry anymore. “It probably was Ryan. I, um, better go clean my room.”



“Clean your room?” Buffy looked thoroughly confused as she watched her sister leave the room. “O-kay. I’m going to head out for a quick patrol. Don’t wait up.”







Damn,” Dawn sighed swinging her bedroom door shut behind her. This was going to be harder than she thought. Even though her sister was sure it was the guy from the cemetery that had sent the flowers, she knew better. There had to be a way to get her to realize that without ratting out Spike.





***





“Buffy?”



“Ryan?” she stashed her stake into the waistband of her skirt as the young man emerged from the shadows. “What are you doing here?”



“I could ask you the same thing,” he laughed. “Beautiful girl hanging out in a dark cemetery.”



“We’ve all got to have a place to hang out,” she replied thankful for the darkness that covered up the bright shade of red her cheeks were turning. “After last night, I didn’t think I’d see you here again. Those guys could still be around.”



“Yeah, but I couldn’t let them scare me away knowing you might be here.”



Her stomach did a summersault when he took her hand and looked into her eyes. He was going to kiss her. She was sure of it. Her eyes fell shut as she tilted her head up to meet his lips.



“What was that?”



“Wh-what?” Buffy gasped her lips tingling from the feel of the cold air hitting her skin where his warm breath had been only a moment before. “I didn’t hear anything.”



“Maybe we should go somewhere a little less secluded,” he suggested.





***





“Bullocks,” the vampire hissed as he barged into the crypt slamming the steel door shut behind him with a satisfying clang.



Clem emerged from behind the fridge door to look at the obviously furious vampire. “Bad night?”



“You could say that. Mate,” Spike growled flopping down on his worn out chair. “You’d think a vamp could take a peaceful walk in the cemetery, but no…”



“I take it you ran into Buffy?” the wrinkled demon asked between mouthfuls of canned cheese.



“That would have been impossible,” he snorted. “Stupid bint was too wrapped up with her latest boy toy.”



“She has a new boyfriend?” Clem asked failing to cover the surprise in his voice. “I mean, that’s great that’s she’s decided to move on with her life. It doesn’t bother you, does it?”



“Why should it bother me?’ Spike shot his friend a glare. “She should move on. Just thought the Slayer would have better taste than that little boy she picked out. Didn’t even have the decency to leave the cemetery before he started pawing her.”



“You pawed her in the cemetery,” Clem reminded him.



“I live her,” he objected, “and I didn’t paw her, we made…never mind. It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s in the past now.”



“Sure, it is,” the demon replied with a shrug as he replaced his snack in the fridge. “Just saying you seem a little preoccupied to say it’s all in the past.”



“I said it was in the past, mate.” Spike’s hands curled into fists on the arms of the chair as his face began to change.



“Hey, it was just an observation.” Clem raised both hands in surrender. “Listen, I need to go out for a bit.”



“Been going out quite a bit lately,” he observed his face returning to its normal features. “Don’t have a lady friend, do you?”



“Me?” He blushed. His ears flapped against his head as he shook his head. “Just got to see a guy about a cat, expecting a big liter. Don’t wait up for me.”





***





Clem walked down the alley behind the Bronze glancing about nervously. He was beginning to think dealing with these vampires was more trouble than it was worth. They had insisted they meet behind the Bronze, not even brothering to remember that he couldn’t morph into human form. He only hoped that if he did run into one of the Bronze’s patrons that they would have drunk enough alcohol to chalk up his “skin disorder” to a drunken hallucination.



This time they had better come though. Not that they had exactly failed the last time. They had delivered the flowers like promised. He just hadn’t counted on Buffy finding a new guy. Maybe he should contract his “partners” to get rid of the guy. No, that wasn’t the answer. If this new guy disappeared, Buffy was bound to blame Spike when she found out that he was back in town. He just had to be patient and stick with the original plan.



“Where are you guys?’ he hissed into the darkness. The sound of the partiers in the Bronze seemed closer than ever. It was only a matter of time before he got caught. What if one of them happened to be a member of the Initiative? They had disbanded after the battle under Sunnydale, but that didn’t mean there weren’t a few of their kind lurking about. He knew what Spike had gone through while trapped with them. He’d never survive it.



“Would you keep it down!” the blond vampire growled as he emerged from the shadows. “Anyone within two blocks knows we’re here!”



Clem nearly jumped out of his skin—no mean feat considering the amount of skin draped over his lumbering frame—as the vampire stepped into the circle of light made by the streetlight followed by his dark-haired minion.



“Sorry,” Clem mumbled. He had been keeping quiet. As quiet as he could be. With his bulk, stealthiness wasn’t exactly his strong point.



“Yeah, whatever,” the blonde’s companion replied with a snort. “Could we just get on with this? I’m hungry, and the pickings are getting slimmer inside as we speak.”



“Yeah, this will only take a minute,” he told them digging in one of the deep pockets on his vest. After a moment, he pulled out a long velvet covered box. “I need you to get this into Buff…the Slayer’s bedroom—preferably on her pillow.”



“You know, your crush on that girl isn’t healthy,” the first vamp commented taking the box ad venturing a peek inside. The item inside made him raise his eyebrows suspiciously.



“It’s not from me!” Clem snapped. “It’s for a…never mind who it’s from! Are you going to do it or not?”



“It’s going to be tough getting into the Slayer’s house,” he commented shoving the box into his back pocket. “The whole no invitation thing and all.”



“I’m sure you can get around that,” he replied impatiently. “I’ll double your fee.”



The vampire shrugged as he turned and joined his companion who had already given up on the conversation and was heading for the backdoor of the Bronze. “Who am I to judge how you waste your money?”

Buffy nudged her toe in the dirt to push the swing into motion. When Ryan had suggested leaving the cemetery, she hadn’t expected to wind up at the playground. He had said he wanted a place a little more public, and if you counted the occasional couple looking for a good make out spot, it was that. It wasn’t the safest place in Sunnydale—there really wasn’t any truly “safe” place in Sunnydale—but she wasn’t going to bring that up now. Ryan actually seemed like a normal guy who genuinely seemed to like her.



She wasn’t going to ruin it this time. She deserved a little happiness. He was a nice, normal guy who wouldn’t expect her to face the darker aspects of herself. A guy who wouldn’t work his way into her heart only to leave her when she needed his help the most, like…



“Buffy?” Her head shot up at the sound of her name. Ryan leaned against the swing set looking down at her with a slightly confused expression. How long had she been sitting there in her little dream world?



“Wh-what?” she sputtered trying to remember what had been going on before she had slipped off. “Did you say something?”



He shrugged as he took a few steps and settled onto the empty swing next to her. “Oh, nothing important really. Is everything okay? You looked like you were miles away.”



“It was nothing,” she replied plastering a fake smile on her face in hopes of side tracking the conversation. “Just feeling a little tired, I guess.”



“Maybe I should take you home,” he suggested. “I’ve been taking up your entire night, and I’m sure you’ve got to get up early for work.”



“No, I’m fine,” she replied quickly. “I’m kind of a night owl myself. What about you? Don’t you have work in the morning too?”



“Oh, I make my own hours.” His lips twitched into a small smile. “My associates won’t mind waiting for me.”



“Must be nice,” Buffy sighed. If only her job would wait for her rather than jumping out of the shadows at her at the most inconvenient times. “What do you do?”



Ryan studied his shoes. For a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to answer. She said a quick pray that he wouldn’t say it was top secret.



“I guess you could say I’m a consultant,” he explained. “When someone has a problem, they hire me to come in and take care of it.”



“Take care of it? You sound like a hit man,” she laughed. The nervous feeling that had seeped in during his brief pause was still lingering.



“Well, if someone needs knocked off, who am I to argue with the client?” The color drained out of Buffy’s cheeks, and he suddenly began to laugh. “I’m joking! What about you? Do you make a career of hanging out in cemeteries? I’d think a beautiful girl like you would be out clubbing, have a devoted boyfriend.”



“Been there,” she replied with a snort. “Didn’t turn out well.”



“So you mope around the graveyard missing you lost love?”



“It’s not that!” she snapped. Actually, she pretty much kept the moping to her bedroom. “I, um, it’s just a thing, but I’m over it…so over it. Um, why don’t we hit the Bronze or something?”



“Whatever the beautiful lady desires,” he laughed offering her his hand.





****





Dawn paced her room, her homework scattered on her bed forgotten. She couldn’t concentrate on the American Revolution while Spike was moping in his crypt thinking Buffy despised him, and her sister was Go knew where with some guy they didn’t know and didn’t care about her half as much as the chipped vampire.



There had to be a way to get them together. She was sure if she could just get them in the same place things would be better. Sure, they’d fight—they wouldn’t be Buffy and Spike if they didn’t, but eventually through all the yelling their true feelings would come out. She was sure of it—she just wasn’t sure how she was going to get Buffy to the crypt without telling her what was waiting for her there.



She cast a glance over her shoulder at the textbooks on the bed. There was no home for educational pursues until she had figured out an answer to her little problem. Grabbing her jacket from the closet, she headed for the door. She has going to need some help on this one.





****





“H…have you seen Clem?” Dawn asked the bartender. She tried to look like she belonged there, but her nervousness was bleeding through. If Buffy ever found out where she was, anything the demons in the bar could do to her would be pretty pale in comparison to the punishment she would dole out.



“This isn’t a bar for little girls,” the grimy man behind the bar growled looking up from the glass he was wiping with a rag that even a gallon of Shout wouldn’t help long enough to throw the teenager an annoyed glare.



“I am not a little girl,” she returned the glare as she folded her arms over her chest. She thought about informing him of her statues as the Slayer’s sister, and then changed her mind. She was already putting herself at risk just being there. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to make herself an even more enticing target.



“Whatever,” he replied with a shrug. “Is Clem expecting you?”



“Of course, he is,” Dawn lied quickly. “Why don’t you just tell me where he is?”



“Snippy little thing, aren’t you?” the bartender shot back gaining another dirty look from the girl. “He’s in the back>”



“Thanks,” Dawn growled making her way towards the back of the bar doing her best to ignore the glances she received as she passed the few tables set up behind the bar.







****





“It’s true,” she gasped the moment she walked into the room. A group of three demons sat at a small table in the center of the smoky room. The table was littered with cards, poker chips, and on one side was an ashtray in desperate need of emptying, and right in the center of the mess was a large basket filled with kittens. “I thought Buffy was telling me a story when she told me you played for kittens.”



“Dawn?” Clem’s face filled with panic as he looked up from his cards. “What are you doing here?”



“I needed to talk to you,” she replied pulling her eyes from the kittens.



“Do your friends always have to interrupt our games?” the green demon on the far side of the table growled tapping his long, yellow nails against his cars impatiently. “They’re bringing down the good name of this bar.”



“Like this place rates five stars in the Sunnydale guidebook,” Dawn shot back. “Clem, I really need to talk to you>”



“We’d better go outside and discuss this in private.” His ears quivered nervously as he ushered the teenager out the back door. “You really shouldn’t be here. Your sister is going to kill you, right after she kills me.”



“Only if she finds out I was here,” she told him as the heavy metal door swung shut behind them. “I needed to talk to you. I can’t help you were slumming when I found you.”



“Fine,” the demon sighed. “Let’s get on with it before you get us into anymore trouble.”



Dawn bit back her argument. It was pointless to waste time bickering about how much trouble she would be in if Buffy found out she was there. Clem was right, if Buffy found out, she was looking at a life long grounding.



“I need to talk to you about Spike.” Dawn replied.



“Dawn,” he sighed, “Spike is gone. You know he’s not coming back…”



“I know he’s already back.” Her lips curled into a smile as a look of surprise took over his features. “I ran into him at the crypt. I know he’s been hiding there.”



His shoulders slumped in defeat. “He’s been staying there, not really hiding.”



“He’s refusing to let Buffy see him. I’d say that’s hiding.”



“He’s just not ready to see her,” he explained. “It’s hard to face her.”



“But she cares about him,” she protested. “She forgave him…”



“But he hasn’t forgiven himself,” Clem continued, “with the soul, it makes it hard to…”



“Spike has a soul?” Dawn gasped.



Suddenly Clem looked extremely guilty. “He…he didn’t tell you, did he?”

Dawn felt like the ground had just been torn out from beneath her feet. She had known there had been something wrong with Spike, but she had just chalked it up to his never-ending stubborn streak.



“What…how?” she stumbled over the words. “He didn’t run into gypsies, did he?”



“This wasn’t a curse,” Clem responded quietly. His eyes darted about the alley making sure they were alone. This wasn’t really news he wanted getting around the demon community. Spike was still capable of defending himself; only lately he didn’t particularly care about his survival. “He left Sunydale to get a soul. He thought it was what the Slayer wanted.”



“So if he did it for Buffy, why is he avoiding her?” she demanded. She crossed her arms over her small chest and flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder with an impatient twitch of her neck. “I know she wants to talk to him. She’s not like all no problem about what happened, but she knows it was the demon.”



“It’s not that simple,” he sighed. He wished it were. Then he wouldn’t be going to all the trouble he was and quickly chipping away at his poker winnings buying presents for the Slayer. “He might not have been cursed, but he’s still dealing with the guilt. He doesn’t see it as the demon took over.”



“He’s going to have to deal with it sometime,” she cut in. “Not dealing is what led to this mess in the first place. Besides, you know Buffy’s going to find out about him eventually.”



“Not that that’s going to happen anytime soon,” Clem added with a shrug.



“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dawn’s forehead creased with confusion. “Do you know something about Buffy?”



“Well, it’s been going around that the Slayer’s been pretty busy with some new guy.” Okay, it wasn’t exactly a lie. He had overheard a couple of the bar’s patrons mention Buffy. She was always the topic of one or two conversations in that place. He wasn’t going to tell the girl he had found out about the guy while trying to meddle in her sister’s love life. If the Slayer found out, he’d find himself on her things to slay list.



“That’s why I’m here,” she sighed. “What do you know about this guy?”



“Nothing really,” he replied quickly. Other than he was screwing up the plan to get Spike and Buffy back together, he really didn’t know anything about him.



“Come on, there’s got to be something,” Dawn pushed tapping her fingers impatiently against her arm. “Buffy meets some new guy in the cemetery, he just suddenly shows up in Sunnydale needing saving and hooks up with the Slayer, and you don’t find anything the least bit suspicious?”



“Well, I—I didn’t say that,” the demon stammered. “I just don’t know anything about him.”



“Fine,” Dawn sighed. Clem was horrible at hiding secrets. It was obvious he wasn’t telling her something, and he wasn’t planning on sharing anytime in the near future. “I’m probably wrong anyway. I’d better get going before Buffy gets home, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”



“Do you want me to walk you home?” the demon suggested looking extremely guilty. “It’s really not safe around here.”



“I’ll be fine. Slayer’s little sister, remember? I can hold my own. Besides,” she tossed over her shoulder as she left the alley, “you’d better go win those kittens so they don’t end up as a late night snack for one of your demon buddies.”





***





A sigh of relief passed Dawn’s lips as she crept into the backyard. The windows of the house were dark, and there wasn’t a sign of Buffy anywhere. Quickly, she crossed the short distance to the house and heaved herself onto the porch railing. If Buffy had come home and found her missing, she was bound to be sitting up waiting for her. There would have at least been the telltale flickering light from the TV shining through the window. Using the door would have been much easier than scaling the side of the house and climbing through her bedroom window, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.



“I didn’t realize breaking and entering was on your assignment list tonight.”



Dawn wrapped an arm around the porch post to keep from falling. Slowly she ventured a look over her shoulder fighting to keep the guilt from showing on her face as she saw her sister standing at the foot of the porch steps.



“Do you mind telling me exactly what you’re up to?”



“Well,” she paused a moment to jump to the ground. Her mind was racing to find a plausible excuse. “I went out.”



“I can see that much,” Buffy replied crossing her arms over her chest. She was tapping her fingers on her elbow making her sister’s chest tighten as she stood in the backyard hoping for an escape. “I don’t recall you asking if it was alright to go out before I left.”



“I wasn’t planning on going out,” she explained. “You weren’t around to ask. It’s no big deal. I just wanted to go out.”



“Dawn, you know it is a big deal. You know better than anyone how dangerous Sunnydale can be at night,” the Slayer paused a moment. Her expression softened a bit. “There’s nobody around to get you out of trouble.”



Dawn knew exactly who her sister was referring to, and for the thousandth time she wished she could just tell her the truth. Of course, that would just be way too easy.



“I can take care of myself, you know,” the girls reminded her. “I just couldn’t concentrate, so I decided to visit Clem.”



Well, it wasn’t a lie, was it? She just wasn’t going to say why she couldn’t concentrate, or why she had visited Clem. Hopefully, she was in enough trouble for sneaking out that Buffy would overlook the reason she had done it.



Buffy’s angry mother face returned. “You got bored, so you decided to hang out in a crypt with a demon. What happed to gabbing on the phone with a friend deciding what you’re going to wear to school the next day?”



“No school tomorrow,” she replied with a shrug. “Besides, Clem is a friend. I don’t think I’d want him picking out my outfits, but…”



“Dawn, I’m not in the mood to joke,” Buffy interrupted. “Now get in the house. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”





***





“Damned,” the dark haired vampire growled as he watched the two girls enter the house from the cover of the bushes bordering the backyard.



“Would you shut up already!” his companion hissed.



“What?’ he complained returning the glares he was receiving from the other two.



“The Slayer’s going to hear you, you moron,” the blond told him careful to keep his voice low until the door shut behind the girls. “Do you want to get staked?”



“I want to get something to eat,” the first complained rising from the cover of the bushes and brushing a few dead leaves from his worn leather jacket with an irritated flick of his hand. “You guys got to hit that club while I was stuck in the tunnels. I don’t see why I couldn’t have gotten a little sip…”



“From the Slayer’s sister,” the vampire sporting a Marilyn Manson t-shirt with a rather large hole in the shoulder rolled his eyes as he entered the Summers’ yard. “That wouldn’t put us on her most wanted list would it? She’s not supposes to know about us, remember?”



“We attacked her in the cemetery, remember?” the first shot back. “She already knows about us!”



“She doesn’t know we’re still around…”



“Would you two shut the hell up!” the blond growled as he studied the small house waiting for the light on the second floor to go out. “We have a job to do.”



“Yeah, some job,” the first vamp growled. “Sneaking into the Slayer’s house, and you say I have a death wish for wanting to eat the girl! Just how are we supposed to get into this joint anyhow?”



“The boss has it taken care of,” the blond snapped.



“Sure, he has it taken care of,” he grumbled pulling a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his jacket. “It looks like we’re the ones taking care of things. We’re risking our unlives while he’s getting a little…”



“It’s all part of the plan,” he reminded his companion. “The boss knows what he’s doing, and if you don’t like your part, you’re going to find yourself on the wrong end of a pointy stick.”

“Good morning,” Buffy said sweetly as she entered the kitchen. Her smile didn’t even fade when she took in the powdered donut Dawn was having for breakfast or the sugary mess scattered over the countertop.



“Morning,” Dawn replied dropping what was left of her donut in the trash. She grabbed the dishcloth from the sink and began to clean up the traces of sugar she had left behind. The mess wasn’t all that horrible, but she was already in enough trouble. There was no reason to give her sister any more reason to yell at her. After they had come inside, Buffy had refused to say anything to her, giving her that disapproving glare of hers while they had prepared for bed. The air had been so thick, Dawn had found it hard to breathe, and almost brought up the topic of her evening’s excursion herself before she came to her senses. The last thing she needed was to blow up and reveal Spike’s secret in the heat of the moment, no matter how much she thought Buffy deserved to know the truth.



Buffy didn’t look overly angry this morning as she sat down on the far side of the counter watching her clean up. She was dressed—not that she didn’t get dressed in the morning. Being the Slayer, Buffy never had been much of a morning person, and since Spike’s departure, her morning attire usually consisted of sweats or pj’s. Today, she was wearing a black leather skirt falling to just below the knee, a full white blouse that showed peaks of skin through the slits running down the material of the arms, and a rather attractive pair of black boots that Dawn reminded herself she’d have to borrow later.



Dawn tossed the cloth back into the sink and leaned against the counter waiting for the lecture she knew was coming. Instead of launching into the ‘101 Reasons Sunnydale isn’t Safe” speech, Buffy continued to sit there with a small smile on her face as she absently fingered the tiny pink, heart-shaped pendant dangling from her throat on a delicate gold chain. It must have been new. Dawn had borrowed most of her sister’s jewelry at one time or another, and she didn’t remember seeing this little trinket in the Slayer’s collection.



“New necklace?” she asked figuring it was probably the safest topic at the moment.



“Yeah, just got it this morning,” Buffy replied reaching for the box of donuts in the center of the counter and pulling out a chocolate covered pastry.



“Did I miss something?” she asked. “Did they open an all night jewelry store?”



“Actually, I found it on my pillow this morning,” she admitted twisting the chain about her index finger.



“You found it on you pillow?’ the girl repeated. Her forehead creased in confusion. Had Spike been there last night? They hadn’t lifted his invitation over the summer, so he could come and go as he pleased. He had denied giving her the flowers, but who else would have given her the necklace? If it had been this new guy she’d been seeing, he would have just handed it to her. “Someone was in your room last night?”



“It was probably Ryan,” she told her sister, the dreamy smile not leaving her lips at the thought of someone sneaking around their house. “He’s so thoughtful with the flowers, now this…”



“And it doesn’t bother you that he broke into our house to give it to you?” Dawn pointed out.



“Ryan wouldn’t do anything like that!” Would he? He was a consultant, worked in an office—at least, she thought he worked in an office, he hadn’t really said. Consultants didn’t break into houses. “He probably just slipped it into my pocket, and it fell out on my pillow when I took off my jacket.”



Dawn ran her fingers through her long locks as she shot her sister a look of disbelief. You’d think as many times as she’d gotten burned, Buffy would be a little more cautious when it came to relationships. “And you didn’t notice? Slayer senses on vacation or something?”



“Well, I was a little sidetracked,” Buffy replied smiling at the memories of the previous night. “He could have done it while we were kissing or…”



“Okay,” she cut in, “no need for sharing. Got enough of a mental picture here, but come on Buffy, do you really think Ryan gave you that? You’ve only known him a couple of days. That looks awfully pricey.”



“Dawn, you act like you don’t like Ryan,” Buffy’s dreamy look faded into one of suspicion.



“Don’t like him?” the girl sighed. “I don’t even know him! The only time that you ever see him is in the cemetery. Doesn’t it bother you that he never comes to the house, hasn’t met your friends?”



Her sister did have a point. It was almost like they were sneaking around, and she already knew how well things turned out when your tried to hide things.



“Well, I think tonight is a good night.”



“What?” Dawn’s brow creased a little deeper.



“Ryan can have dinner with us,” she replied happily. “It’ll give you a chance to meet him. You’ll like him as much as I do once you get to know him. It’ll be great.”



“Yeah, great,” Dawn sighed. There was no point in arguing with her. Buffy was definitely smitten. Maybe she was wrong about the guy. It was possible that Ryan was just a normal guy who actually did like her older sister. Then again, with Buffy’s track record, maybe she should be prepared for the worst. “It’ll be great. Um, I have to go out.”



“Where?” A flicker of suspicion marred the Slayer’s happy expression.



“To the mall—with Janice,” she added a little too quickly. “I promised her I’d meet her there. I’ll be back in plenty of time for dinner, promise.”



“Okay,” Buffy muttered turning her attention back to her new pendant as the younger girl left the room. “Just stay out of the cemetery.”





****





“Come on, you have to go!” Dawn pleaded with the blond vampire parked in his usual spot in his ragged old chair in front of the television.



“I don’t have to go anywhere, Bit,” Spike told her not bothering to look up from his show. “Big sis doesn’t want me interrupting her little dinner party, and I don’t want her to know that I’m back in town.”



Dawn walked around the chair and planted herself between the stubborn vamp and the TV. A grumble of protest rose from the vampire’s chest as he was forced to face the teenager.



“I didn’t say you had to come in for cocoa,” she snapped, “but you need to be there. I can’t take Ryan on by myself, and Buffy’s too lovesick to help…”



“Niblet,” Spike sighed, “don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid? Maybe this Ryan is just a regular bloke…”



“Because Buffy always hooks up with Mr. Normal,” she reminded him, “and normal guys always hang out in cemeteries and break into their girlfriend’s house to leave presents in her bedroom.”



“He left her a present?”



“On her pillow,” Dawn reiterated. “Not that you would care. We’re having a potential psycho for dinner, but why should you care if we’re mutilated, tied up and sacrificed to some grotesque demon…”



“Bloody hell,” Spike cut her off. “I’ll go. I’ll only come in if there’s trouble, mind you.”

Spike knelt behind the bushes edging the backyard of the Slayer’s house feeling like an idiot. He should never have let the Bit talk him into this. He didn’t want Buffy to know he was back, and here he was only a few feet from her back door just begging to be found.



For a moment, he thought about heading back to the crypt, but dismissed the idea. If Dawn came out and found him missing from his post, she would never forgive him. So, instead, he sat down in the grass and lit a cigarette while he waited.



“Cor,” the vampire growled snubbing the cigarette on the ground next to him. “Just brilliant, Spike.”



If he wasn’t tempting fate hiding in the bushes, he had to send up smoke signals just in case she missed him. He continued to mumble expletives as he drove the cigarette into the ground, ending only when his eyes caught sight of something a few feet away. His blue eyes narrowed as he spotted a few more close to the first mark, a little larger than the first. They were definitely footprints and from the looks of it fairly fresh. Maybe Buffy had been doing some gardening. He laughed dryly at the thought, The Slayer was hardly the gardening type. It looked like someone had been keeping an eye on the Slayer. Maybe Niblet wasn’t completely wrong to worry.





***





“This is my sister Dawn” Buffy introduced her sister to her new boyfriend looking happier than Dawn had seen her in months. Their discussion about the necklace had given her doubts, and Buffy almost expected Ryan to refuse when she had suggested that he join them for dinner. He not only didn’t turn her down, but he actually seemed anxious to meet her sister.



“It’s nice to finally meet you,” he told the girl with a broad smile as he took her hand and pumped it vigorously.



“Nice to meet you too—finally.” Dawn pulled her hand back as she eyed the young man before her suspiciously. He looked normal enough, kind of cute even, but so had her date last Halloween. She wasn’t going to be fooled so easily this time. If he was normal, he was going to have to prove it.



“So what are you in the mood for?” the Slayer piped up breaking the brief silence. “Ryan offered to take us anywhere we want for dinner.”



The teenager’s eyes narrowed for a moment. He was cute, happy to meet the little sister, and generous with his money. So much for normal, but they couldn’t leave the house. It had been hard enough to get Spike to show up. He wasn’t going to follow them all over town.



“Um, actually,” she paused a moment trying to think of a good excuse, “could we order in tonight? I… um… have some major studying I should be doing.”



Buffy’s smile faded a bit as she looked away from Ryan and faced her sister. “You? Study? Did I miss something here?”



“It’s no problem,” Ryan cut in. “I know a great little Chinese place that delivers. I don’t want to interrupt the studying. Education is always important.”



“Yeah, right, don’t want to neglect the academics. Buffy’s always telling me that school is more important than being a Slay—slacker.” It was official. Buffy’s boyfriend actually thought studying was more important than going out. He definitely wasn’t normal.



“I knew you were gorgeous, and a beautiful brain to top it off. I am a lucky man,” Ryan laughed placing a light kiss on the tip of Buffy’s nose. Dawn forced a smile as she felt her stomach begin to churn. “Just point me towards the phone, and I’ll have some fried rice here before you know it.”



“Isn’t he great?” Buffy sighed sinking onto the couch after Ryan left the room.



“Yeah, just super,” Dawn replied rolling her eyes in her sister’s direction. “Um, I’m going upstairs and get some studying in before the food gets here.”



“Yeah, sure,” Buffy answered. There was a far off look in her eyes, no doubt planning what she and Ryan would be doing while waiting for dinner to arrive. “We’ll call you when dinner gets here.”



“Whatever,” the girl groaned as she left the living room heading for her room. She stopped just short of the stairway and looked towards the phone on the stand. The hallway was empty. There was another phone in the kitchen, but why would Ryan walk past the phone to find another one in another room that he didn’t even know they had? Her eyebrows drew together when her gaze moved from the phone to the door leading to the basement. She knew it hadn’t been ajar before Buffy and Ryan had gotten home. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Seeing that the Slayer’s attention was once more focused on her precious necklace, Dawn made her way towards the basement door.



“Stop your complaining!” Dawn pressed herself against the wall when Ryan’s voice drifted up the stairway. For a moment she thought of alerting Spike, but from her vantage point, she couldn’t tell who or what Ryan might be talking to. Buffy wasn’t going to be of much help at the moment. Better to know what they were dealing with before throwing Spike into the middle of it.



“You’ve just got to keep an eye on her a little longer,” Ryan continued. “I don’t have time to argue with you. They’re going to miss me. Be patient and you’ll get your reward.”



Hearing Ryan feet on the stairs, Dawn took off for her room. She’d just have to wait until dinner was over and tell Spike her latest discovery.





***





“Spike?” Dawn called scanning the bushes for her friend. Dinner had been uneventful, save for Buffy’s constant chattering about how wonderful her new boyfriend was—and Dawn had thought her sister had been nauseating when she had gushed about Spike while under Willow’s spell a couple of years back. Dinner was finally over, and no sooner had they opened their fortune cookies, than Ryan had suggested they go out.



“Spike, where are you?” she growled into the darkness. “We don’t have time to play hide and seek!”



“You’re getting as impatient as the Slayer,” Spike laughed as he stepped from the cover of the bushes.



“Don’t tell me you fell asleep,” she accused not bothering to comment on his last statement.



“Did not!” Okay, so he had dozed off for a bit. Watching them eat dinner through a window could only hold a vamp’s interest for so long. “Can I help it that you throw boring dinner parties?”



“You could have been inside listening to Buffy sing Ryan’s praises,” Dawn sighed. “I think the only thing he hasn’t done is discovered a cure for cancer. Although, I’m sure he probably has that penciled into his schedule.”



“Well, it sounds like the Slayer found herself a decent guy. Good for her.” Spike sounded anything but sincere as he placed a cigarette to his lips and pulled his lighter from his pocket. “She deserves a little happiness.”



“Yeah, he’s really decent!” Dawn snapped. Why was everyone refusing to believe there was something wrong with her sister’s new boyfriend? “He’s absolutely perfect. He’s done everything there is to do and done it better than everyone else. He even likes to have meetings in our basement and have his minions keep an eye on Buffy.”



“He what?” the vampire asked giving her a curious look through a cloud of smoke.



“I heard him,” Dawn continued happy to finally have the vampire’s attention. “He was downstairs talking to someone, and don’t tell me it was nothing. He wasn’t having a discussion with the washing machine!”



After discovering the footprints in the bushes, Spike knew it wasn’t nothing. He suddenly felt the urge to wrap his fingers around this Ryan’s neck, despite the new soul telling him how wrong violence was. “Niblet, I want you to get inside the house and stay there.”



“What?” she cried. “Aren’t you listening to me? Buffy is in trouble. I can’t sit around the house and not help her…”



“Dawn, do what you’re told!” the blond snapped. “Please, just go inside. I’ll keep an eye on the Slayer.”



Dawn’s jaw dropped as she watched him flick his half-smoked cigarette to the ground and stalk out of the yard. It wasn’t like Spike to snap at her. She glanced at this retreating back for a moment before turning back to the house. If it was enough to make Spike edgy maybe she should listen to him, at least for the time being.





***





“Beginning to wonder if you’d ever get back.” The blond vampire looked up from the cards laid out on the large rock he was using as a card table as Ryan entered the small cavern.



“Took forever to get away from the Slayer tonight,” he replied sinking down on another rock near the vampire. “She’s definitely a devoted little thing.”



“Thought that’s what you wanted,” the vampire reminded him with a snort. “Part of the plan and all.”



“Doesn’t mean that I have to like it.” He shot the demon a glare. “But it will all be over soon.”



“So, we’re finally going to move forward?” he asked his lips curling into a grin as he dropped the cards in his hand on the rock with the rest. “That stupid demon stopped by with another gift for the girl. Can’t have a necklace without matching earrings. I’m getting sick of playing Santa Claus.”



“Soon,” Ryan confirmed. “I’ve got our friend watching the girl. Once we get the Slayer out of the way, he can bring her to us.”



“Not to sound over anxious,” his smile faltered, “but I thought we were working on getting rid of the Slayer. Why are we wasting time on her sister?”



“Because she’s the Key.”



“Well, yeah. I was in Sunnydale for the whole dimension shifting thing—actually was kind of fun before the Slayer had to go an save the world yet again—but what’s the girl good for now?”



“You’ve been spending too much time with those idiots.” Ryan sighed. “The Hellbitch’s plan might have fallen through, but that doesn’t mean the energy isn’t still inside the girl. Once the Slayer is taken out of the picture all hell is going to break loose on the Hellmouth—pardon the pun. Not that it’s not going to be quite the party, but I didn’t go to all this trouble just to create chaos on earth. To be in charge, we need power…”



“And it’s in that girl.” The vampire’s smile returned as understanding brought a glint of excitement to his eyes.



“Now you’re getting it,” Ryan laughed. “So do we have all the supplies we’ll need for tomorrow night?”

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I apologize for not posting sooner. Had surgery a couple of weeks ago & was out of commission for a bit, but now I'm playing catch up & I'm back to bug you--aren't you lucky! Hope you like the latest...

Clem glanced up from the television to see the blond vampire stalk into the crypt. He had been surprised to come home and find the crypt empty, but judging from the unpleasant look on his friend’s face his plan had finally worked. Good thing too. He was quickly exhausting his poker winnings buying presents for the Slayer. His friend looked upset. No doubt he was coming home from one of their infamous fights, but they had talked, and that was a step in the right direction.



“Everything okay?” he asked grinning from floppy ear to floppy ear as he jumped up from Spike’s favorite chair. “Did you see Buffy?”



“That stupid bint,” Spike sighed settling into the vacated chair.



“You saw the Slayer,” Clem confirmed his smile growing even broader if that was possible. “I’m sure she was upset, she didn’t…”



“I leave her for a few months, and she goes out and gets herself involved with some Slayer hunter,” the vampire growled.



“You mean the Slayer’s new boyfriend?” Clem asked more confused than ever. “You didn’t fight with him, did you?”



Spike’s blue eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “Bloody hell, I didn’t even get to talk to him! I should have seen it. All those bloody presents.”



“You mean she still thinks he gave them to her?” he blurted out.



“What do you mean, thinks he gave them to her?” Spike questioned glancing at the saggy-skinned demon suspiciously. “Who else would be giving her presents?”



“Oh, nobody,” he backpedaled. “I’m sure he must be the one giving them to her.”



“What are you not telling me?” His scarred brow rose questioningly as he watched the demon shuffle his feet nervously in the dust covering the stone floor.



“N—nothing,” he replied putting on his most innocent face. “Really, I… I… It was me.”



“You?” the vampire growled. His fingers dug into the arms of the chair as he glared at the shaking demon through golden pupils. “Why would you be giving the Slayer gifts?”



“I…I didn’t know she’d think it was him,” Clem explained quickly. “I only wanted to help. I thought she’d guess it was you.”



“You were sneaking into Buffy’s house to leave her gifts from me?” He had a hard time believing Clem could break into anywhere without tipping someone off, much less make it into the Slayer’s bedroom and back out again.



“I didn’t break into her house!” Clem cursed himself silently. He never could keep his mouth shut when he was nervous.



“You didn’t break in?” Spike sighed. He had enough to worry about, and now he had to worry about Clem’s misadventures in matchmaking. “Who did?”



Clem’s shoulders drooped almost as badly as his ears. “I hired some guys…”



“Some guys?”



“Okay, vampires,” he admitted.



“You hired vampires to break into the Slayer’s house?” Spike burst from the chair, and he curled his fingers into the front of Clem’s shirt. “What would possess you to... Wait a minute, how did these blokes get inside?”



“I don’t know!” Clem shook violently in the vampire’s grasp. “They said they had it taken care of. I was just trying to help. I figured it was the Slayer. If they tried anything, she’d take care of them.”



Spike released his friend with a growl. The vampire part of him wanted to throttle him, but his soul kept reminding him this was his friend. Clem would never intentionally put the Slayer in danger.



“Sorry, mate,” he muttered. “I know you didn’t mean any harm, but I need you to stay with Dawn tonight.”



“You think she’s in danger?” he gasped as his thick fingers massaged his neck under the folds of skin.



“I’m pretty sure they’re after the Slayer,” he replied settling back onto his chair, “but I’d feel better if the Niblet wasn’t alone tonight.”





***





“Going out tonight?” Dawn looked up from the television as the Slayer descended the stairs.



“Ryan thought we could hit the Bronze tonight.” Buffy smiled happily as she shrugged into her jacket.



“You’re going out again?” she sighed. “You’ve been out every night.”



“Dawn, come on,” she sighed. “How often do I get a night out that doesn’t include vampires? I thought you liked Ryan.”



“I never said I didn’t like him,” she replied. She just didn’t trust him. “You’ve been out every night this week.”



“I thought you’d be happy for me,” Buffy snapped.



“I am,” Dawn sighed. It was no point talking to her sister. She was too far gone now. “Just be careful, okay?”



“I always am,” Buffy’s broad smile returned as she headed for the door. “Don’t wait up!”





TBC…

Dawn paced the living room impatiently. The television was playing in the background, but she had no idea what was on. Buffy had been gone for a couple of hours, and she was becoming more worried with every passing moment. Spike had refused to admit there was anything wrong with Ryan, but the fact that he had exiled her to the house pretty much confirmed her suspicions.



Sitting around the house was driving her insane. Just because Spike could ignore the fact that her sister was in danger didn’t mean she could just sit back and do nothing.



“It’s about time!” Dawn grumbled as she crossed the room to answer the sudden knock at the door. “Clem, what are you doing here?”



The demon plastered a smile on his face hoping to hide his nervousness even though he was shaking violently as he stood in front of the glaring teenager. “Spike sent me over. Thought we might hang out for the evening. Um, can I come in?”



“So Dawn needs babysitting again?” she growled moving out of the doorway. Being treated like a little kid yet again didn’t make her anywhere near happy, but she couldn’t let the demon stand on her front porch too long. Granted it was Sunnydale where they could have the fabric between dimensions being torn apart before them, and people would go on about their daily business, but still having a demon hanging out on your doorstep wasn’t a good idea.



“It’s not that,” he replied following the girl into the house. “Spike just thought it would be better if you weren’t alone.”



“Everyone seems to have forgotten that Buffy’s the one in danger,” Dawn griped plopping down on the couch and snatching the remote from the coffee table.



“Well, if it helps,” Clem offered as she began clicking through the stations, “Spike said he was going to keep an eye on the Slayer tonight.”





****





“Want another?” Ryan leaned in against Buffy’s shoulder to be heard over the band playing on the stage of the Bronze. Giving the blond his most winning smile, he slid a glass containing a strawberry flavored concoction past the already empty glasses littering the table in front of the Slayer.



Buffy studied the drink before her through glassy eyes. It felt like they had been at the Bronze for hours, and that she had drank a dozen of the drinks Ryan kept offering her. If it hadn’t been Ryan, she would have worried he was trying to get her drunk. But it was Ryan, and she knew she could trust him.



“Aren’t you going to have one?” she asked. Her words slurred as she tried to focus on one of the Ryans sitting next to her hoping that she had chosen the right one to focus on.



“No thanks,” Ryan sighed looking extremely bored. “I’m not thirsty. Besides, we’re going to have to leave soon.”



Buffy’s eyebrows creased together over the rim of her glass. “Are we going somewhere? I thought we were going to hang out here.”



“I told you, remember? “ She couldn’t say she did. “I wanted you to meet some friends of mine. Don’t you want to now? I took the time to meet your sister.”



She gave him a puzzled look after another gulp of her drink. She had no idea what the drink was, but it was addictive. Ryan’s behavior had her on edge despite the affect of the alcohol. He had never been short with her before. He did seem to prefer a little less crowded locale for their dates. Perhaps that was what had him upset, but he had been the one to suggest that they go to the club.



“Of course I want to meet them. I just didn’t know you knew anyone in Sunnydale being here on business and all.”



He gave her that smile that made her agree to anything. “Well, they are coworkers, but they’re very influential. They could do a lot for us. Now, finish your drink.”



The Slayer’s heart fluttered at his use of the word ‘us’. She would have liked to discuss the topic in depth, but he suddenly seemed in a rush to leave. Her lips curled into a lopsided grin as she raised her glass to her lips and finished the remainder of the drink in one long gulp.





****





The sidewalk outside the Bronze was crowded as usual. Typically, she would have been scanning the crowd for signs of vampires on the prowl for a midnight snack, but she didn’t have time to do much looking as Ryan rushed down the street. Her head had started to spin the moment they had stepped into the chilly might air. Maybe meeting her boyfriend’s coworkers wasn’t the best idea. She didn’t want to embarrass him.



“Something wrong?” Ryan looked over his shoulder impatiently.



She didn’t notice as she stood gazing at a break in the crowd. She was feeling light-headed, but she had seen the flash of platinum hair out of the corner of her eye as she rushed to keep up with her companion. She knew she had, and she knew it wasn’t possible. He wasn’t coming back to Sunnydale, and she wasn’t going to let a hallucination ruin her chance at happiness.



“Nothing,” she replied quickly tearing her eyes from the empty space. “I’m just not feeling very well.”



“Why don’t you want to meet my friends?” he snapped.



“It’s not that I don’t want to meet them,” she told him not even trying to resist when he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her down the street and around the corner. “I just don’t feel well.”



“You felt fine inside.”



She had felt all right inside—other than feeling extremely intoxicated. Her head had felt light ever since that last drink, and the chilly night air and the faces flashing by as they hurried down the street wasn’t helping.



“Really, I’m not feeling well,” she gasped falling forward into Ryan’s waiting arms.

An animalist growl rumbled in Spike’s throat as he rounded the corner at the end of the block to find the narrow alley empty. The crowd had been a good place to hide when the Slayer and her latest example of romantic folly had exited the Bronze, but the people had been a huge hindrance when he had attempted to follow the couple. By the end of the street he wanted to start throwing people out of the way no matter how much the chip would punish him as a result.



He didn’t have time for that now. He had to find Buffy before she got herself good and dead. The alley was empty and nothing had been disturbed save for the tipped over garbage cans that had probably been that way all night. There wasn’t a sign of the couple in sight, but they wouldn’t lose him that easily. The scent of vanilla nearly overpowered by the smell of liquor and a very faint dash of something else teased at his nostrils. It would not have been noticeable to your average person even without the stench of garbage hiding it, but luckily for the Slayer, she had him around to save her butt.





****





“Mmm…” a raspy groan passed through Buffy’s dry lips. Her mouth felt like it could make the Sahara look like a rain forest. She kept her eyes shut hoping the throbbing in her temples would let up soon. Vaguely, she recalled leaving the Bronze, but after that things got hazy. When was she going to remember alcohol and the Slayer didn’t mix? At least, she had a sweet guy like Ryan to take care of her. Although, she wished the bed wasn’t so rock hard and her hands weren’t chained over her head.



Wait a minute! Buffy’s eyes snapped open, but the chains about her wrists became a rather minor concern. She hadn’t expected Ryan’s apartment to have rock walls or a stone slab for a bed or a campfire built in the middle of the dirt floor for that matter. Where in the hell did he bring her?



“So you’re finally awake.” Ryan emerged from a shadowy corner of the cave. The look of distain on his face turned her blood nearly as cold as the stone beneath her back.



“Ryan,” she croaked tugging against the chains holding her down, “where are we?”



“This would be home,” he replied. “Who would have thought it would be so easy to bring a Slayer down?”



Buffy stared at the man towering over her not believing this was the same man she had met in the cemetery. “What’s going… Ryan, you know who I am? What did you do to me?”



“It was so simple,” Ryan boasted. “All the plotting, spells, and all it took was a simple mickey, okay, two or three, to bring you down.”



“Ryan, have you gone completely bonkers?” she growled. “You drugged me? I thought you were a consultant…”



“And I am,” he laughed as he brought a heavy sword from behind his back. “I told you I help people with their problems—a coven needing to rid themselves of an annoying do-gooder Wicca, or say an entire town of demons plagued by a Slayer with relationship issues. You were such an easy target. Once I finish you off, that powerful little sister of yours will be all mine, and I’ll rule the Hellmouth.”



The chains rattled as Buffy fought to get off the slab, only making the manacles about her wrists bite into her flesh. “Leave Dawn out of this! She’s just a kid!”



“Come now, Buffy,” he laughed raising the sword over his head, “we both know she’s much more than that, and if you will kindly shut the hell up, I would very much like to get this messy business over with so I can get my reward.”



Buffy’s eyes fluttered shut waiting for the final blow. She was such an idiot. Dawn had tried to warn her, and now Dawn was going to the paying for her stupidity.



Was he ever going to get this over with? The bad guys always had to prolong their victories. The girl’s eyes popped back open at the sound of the sword thudding to the dirt floor followed by a second thud as Ryan’s back landed against the cave wall.



“Spike?” She had to be dreaming. The vampire was miles away. He couldn’t be in the cave holding Ryan against the wall by his throat.



“So you’re Spike?” Ryan smiled despite the fingers digging into his throat. “Thought you were busy getting your soul back. How’s that working out for you?”



“You know about that?” the vampire growled looking confused for a moment.



Buffy ceased to struggle with her bonds and stared at the new arrival. “You got a soul?”



“It’s my business to know the going on's in the demon community,” Ryan informed him. “Now why don’t you be a good vampire and put me down. Wouldn’t want my death on your conscious, now would you?”



His face turned an unhealthy shad of red as the vampire tightened his grip. “No, wouldn’t want that. Then again, I doubt killing a demon trying to kill the woman I love will really bother me much.”



Buffy cringed at the sound of Ryan’s neck bones snapping. She was just a total fool, and Spike had just proven it. The chip had never kicked in. How could she let herself get suckered in by a demon? Once again, she got herself into a bad relationship, and she got burned, and…



“Dawn!” Spike turned from the dead body slumped in the dirt at the Slayer’s outburst. “Spike, we’ve got to get home. He was after Dawn. She’s at home by herself…”



“Don’t worry, I sent Clem over to keep an eye on her,” he replied giving the chains over her head a blow with Ryan’s discarded sword. “Right, luv, we’d better hurry.”





****





“So let me get this straight,” Dawn muttered thoughtfully. “You were the one giving the gifts?”



“Well, I bought them” Clem explained. “They were supposed to be from Spike. Thought the Slayer would figure it out. Might make the homecoming a little easier.”



“Unless you add some cute, manipulative guy to the mix,” she sighed, “and Buffy thinks I have bad taste in guys… Did you hear that?”



Dawn looked around the dimly lit room. The television had been off for hours, and she was sure she had locked the door after Clem had arrived. It couldn’t be Buffy. Since meeting Ryan, she couldn’t make it through the door without gushing about what a wonderful time she had had.



“I didn’t hear anything,” Clem replied as his eyes also darted around the room. “Maybe it was a cat outside, or…”



“Maybe it was the vampires in the basement.” Dawn and Clem both jumped up from the couch as the three vampires entered the room. “Good to see you again, Clem.’



“Again?” Dawn shot a questioning glance at Clem and turned back to the vampires. “You can’t be in here. You weren’t invited.”



“Looks like we can,” the blond laughed. “Ryan’s pretty handy with the magic.”



“See, I told you Ryan was up to no good!” she added.



“I think you should leave,” Clem said as bravely as he could. “I won’t be needing your services anymore.”



“We’re not here for a job,” the vampire to the blonde’s right replied with a sneer. “We’re here for the girl.”



“Buffy’s not here,” Dawn told the vampires. She eyed Buffy’s weapon chest on the far side of the room. She doubted she could make it that far with three vampires only a few feet away.



“Ryan’s already got her taken care of,” the blond sighed impatiently. “We’re here for you, sweetheart.”



“I’m not letting you take her anywhere!” Clem placed his bulk between the demons at the door and the girl.



“I don’t recall asking permission,” he growled. “Boys, get rid of him already!”



The vampires were on the demon in a heartbeat. Clem stumbled under the weight of the attack and feel backwards landing on the coffee table.



“Leave him alone!” Dawn screamed grabbing the splintered table leg that had landed at her feet. Without thinking, she plunged the weapon into the nearest vampire’s back.



“Hey! You killed him!” the remaining brunette growled as the dust settled.



“Yeah, and you’re next!” Dawn did her best to look threatening.



“I’m going to kill you, you little bitch!” The vampire leaped at the girl, only to be pulled back by the neck of his t-shirt by the blond.



“The boss wants her in one piece!” he warned the other.



“He won’t notice if a few drops are missing!” the vampire whined.



“No, but I would!” Dawn’s eyes shot to the door. Relief flooded every cell when she saw Buffy followed closely by Spike enter the room.



“Slayer!” the blond gasped shaking almost as badly as Clem had when that had arrived. “Where’s Ryan?”



“Oh, he’s quite dead, mate,” Spike replied.



“Just like you’re going to be in a very few seconds,” Buffy added raising Ryan’s sword in her small hands.





****





“I’m really sorry, Buffy,” Clem moaned as Dawn pressed a towel filled with ice to the lump over his right eye.



“You meant well,” Buffy sighed taking a large sip of her coffee. It really didn’t do much for the dryness lingering in her throat. “Just no more inviting vamps into my house. I really can’t afford anymore coffee tables.”



“Right then,” Spike added jumping off his seat on the kitchen counter. “Everybody’s safe and sound. That’s a signal that I should be leaving.”



“Hold it right there!” Buffy snapped before he could open the door. “I think you should stay.”



“You mean, you forgive me?” He looked hopefully over his shoulder.



“Well, it is kind of hard to be angry with the person who just saved our lives,” she replied studying the contents of her cup intently. “Besides, I’m still feeling kind of hungover at the moment, and I don’t want you to sneak away before you tell me the details of this whole getting a soul thing.”



Dawn shot Clem a hopeful look. “Um, I think I’ll be spending the day over at Clem’s tomorrow,” she told them. She had a feeling there was going to be quite a long, and probably loud, discussion in the Summers’ home the next day, but it was a start.





The End