Disclaimer: You know the routine. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own all characters except one.

A/N: Please Review. I don't know if I will continue this fic after the first chapter. Tell me what you think.

Buffy Summers looked around the old hardware store. It was located on the main street in the middle of the town, but hadn’t been occupied for twenty years. The building was nothing but one long room with a storage room off to the side. The front half of the store had long shelves on either side of the room that were waist high. From the top of the shelves up to about two feet from the ceiling were small 1ft x 6in shelves, with glass doors on each, built into the walls. Along the ceiling were bars that held tall ladders, so you were able to access all shelves. She knew it would be perfect.

“I’ll take it.” she said with a smile knowing that her dream was finally coming true.

“That’s great. I’m glad we finally sold this place. It’s a very hard sale. There is also a two bedroom apartment upstairs that I forgot to mention.” the agent said looking around the place.

“I think I’ll still take it, but I would like to look at the apartment too.”

“No problem.” he said leading the way up the stairs. He opened the door. “It’s not the best I’m sure but it’s part of the building, so....”

“It’s perfect. I’ll still take it.” she said.

They walked back downstairs and walked out the door, stopping to let him lock it, before walking to his car. After making their way back to his office, she signed all of the appropriate paperwork.

“So Miss Summers, what exactly do you plan to do with the building?” he asked curious as to what the young woman might be bringing to their town.

“I’m opening a coffehouse and bar.” she said confidently.

“How are you going to do that?” he said not believing in her idea.

“You’ll see.” she said with a nod.

“Well the best of luck with that. I hope everything goes well for you. Thank you for taking that building off of our hands.” he said shaking her hand.

“And thank you for allowing me to. Have a nice day.” she said then turned and left his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mom!! Are you home?” Buffy yelled.

“In the kitchen sweetie.” Joyce answered back.

“Mom. I did it. I bought that old hardware store downtown. I’m going to finally own my own bar.” Buffy said practically glowing.

“That’s great news.” Joyce said giving her daughter a hug. “So have you thought about a name for this special dream of yours?”

“Well I thought about coffee and then I though about people getting off of work and came up with the perfect name” Buffy said trying to explain her decision.

“And..?” Joyce said encouragingly. Buffy looked at her mom for a moment before answering.

“The Grind.”

Two months later...

The old empty hardware store had been transformed into Buffy’s vision of The Grind. A small kitchen had been added to the back of the building. In the middle of the room was a small wooden dance floor. A long bar had been built in front of one of the shelving systems. The small glass doors on the small shelve had been individually painted and was backlit, creating a huge mural on either side of the building. The final touches that had been added were the forty high tables with chairs and the heavy curtains that would be open in the morning and closed at night to give a more intimate setting to the bar.

“I actually did it. It looks exactly like I always wanted my bar to look like. Now all I need are people to work for me. Did you bring that help wanted sign?” Buffy asked her mom who had been helping her throughout the renovation.

“Yeah, I put it on the bar. This place really looks great. I know that it'll do business. People have been wondering what you are doing in here.” Joyce said.

“Really? Maybe that'll bring people in.” Buffy said amused. “Now, I want to put out an ad in the paper for bartenders, waitresses and kitchen staff. I’ll go down to the paper to do that today. I want to open soon.”

“Honey, you have your bartenders licence and you’re a great bartender. Why are you hiring more?”
Joyce asked.

“I love to bartend, you know that, but I am going to have to run this place too. I'll still bartend I just want to hire some people to know that I am covered if I can’t be here.”

“Good, at least your not giving it up. Look, I need to go. I have my own business to attend to.” Joyce said giving here daughter a hug.

“Okay, mom. I’ll see you later. Are you going to help me move in up stairs?” Buffy asked.

“Of course. Have a good day honey.” Joyce said and left the building.

Buffy took the Help Wanted sign and put it in the window, then wrote out her ad. She took it down to the paper.

A week later, Buffy had hired Clem to run things in the kitchen. She also hired Anya as the manager. She found Anya very amusing because she was so blunt and she had an obsession with money. Buffy hired two girls as waitresses in the bar : Willow and Tara. She hired a few coffeehouse waiters too: Harmony, Dawn, and Kendra. Xander, Willow’s friend, had come to interview for the bartending job. He had no experience, but he looked like he had potential. But Buffy still wanted to hire one more bartender to make up for Xander’s inexperience.

“Mom I need you and Anya to help me. I have to go to LA to see a guy about a sound system. I have a guy coming to interview for the other bartending job. I really need you to interview him for me. Will you?” she said practically begging them.

Joyce and Anya shared a look before answering. “Honey of course we’ll interview him for you.” Joyce said.

“Oh my god. Thank you so much. I need to go. He’ll be here in a little bit.” She said giving them both a hug then rushed out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike looked at the address that was in the ad then at the building. He thought for a minute that he had the wrong address. Finally he walked through the door and was greeted by two attractive women.

“Hello, luvs. I’m looking for Buffy Summers.” Spike said.

“Hello, I’m Joyce and this is Anya. Buffy had to go to LA on business. We will doing the interview.”

“You are good looking. You would draw women into the bar.” Anya said.

“Um, Thank you.” Spike said.

“Why don’t you tell us about yourself.” Joyce said knowing that she would end up doing the interview anyway.

“Well, my name is William Hart, but people call me Spike. I’m 26 years old. I just moved here from London. I worked at a bar there. I was the best there. But I moved here so I could see more of my mom and stepfather. I’m living with them for right now until I find a place of my own.” he finished wondering if there was anything else they wanted to now.

“Well you seem to be a really nice guy. But we need to know if you can bartend. Would you mind showing us? We would give you our order and you make it.” Joyce said wanting to hire him.

“Sounds good. Let me get behind the bar.” Spike said moving around the bar. He looked around for a few minutes studying where everything was situated before turning to the women. “Alright, let’s have it.” he said with a cocky grin.

“Okay, let me have a Rolls Royce” Joyce said. He nodded and looked at Anya. “I'll take a Maiden's Prayer” Anya said.

Joyce and Anya looked at Spike in amazement. He flipped the bottles with confidence and poured the liquid into the glass without spilling a drop. He handed them their drinks and wiped his hands off with a towel.

Joyce smiled at him. “Good job. I think your hired. I just have one more question.”

“Ask away.” he said leaning on the bar.

“Are you afraid of heights?” she asked.

“That’s the question?” he asked confused. Joyce nodded. “Well, no.”

“Good. Because some of our liquor is stored in those shelves at the top, you would need to climb that ladder. Would that be a problem?” Joyce said knowing that she was going to hire this man. She liked him he was polite even though he looked tough.

“No.” he said simply

“Great. Then your hired. My daughter left the decision to myself and Anya and I think you would be perfect. What do you think Anya?”

“Yeah, I would love for you to work here” Anya agreed.

Joyce took over again. “I’ll tell Buffy that I gave you the job. She’ll call you sometime this week. Right now though I need you fill out some paperwork. Please follow me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy got back to the apartment late that night and called her mom.

“Hey mom. How did the interview go?” Buffy asked.

“I hired him. He is a great bartender. Spike will definitely bring women in. I left his paperwork on your desk in the apartment.”

“Thanks mom.” Buffy walked over to the desk. “Mom did you just call him Spike?”

“Yes, honey, but it is only a nickname.”Joyce laughed.

“Mom I’m going to go. I’m really tired. I got the sound system though so everything is good.”

“That’s great. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Get some sleep. I love you.” Joyce said as she hung up.

Buffy went to sleep that night thankful that everything was under control.

A/N: What do you think? Should I keep going?

A/N: Thank you everyone for your encouragement. Please continue to review and tell me what you do and don't like.

Buffy was having a meeting at the bar a few days before the bar opened. She had called everybody except the man that her mom had hired. She looked trough his paper work to find his phone number.
She picked up the phone and dialed the number.

“ `ello?” answered a British accent

“Hello, may I speak to William Hart?” Buffy said trying to sound professional.

“That’d be me, and I prefer Spike, luv.” he answered.

“Well, Mr. Hart, this is Buffy Summers. I’m having a meeting at the bar on Friday night. All staff members will be there to meet each other and get the starting hours.” Buffy said trying to remain professional.

“I can’t make it. I’m moving into my new apartment then. And I said that I prefer Spike.” Spike said hating to have to repeat himself.

There was something that she didn’t like about him. “If you don’t come to the meeting, Mr. Hart, then I will have no choice but to put you on training duty. I have an inexperienced man who wants to become a bartender. I’m giving him the chance to do that. I was going to train him myself even though I would rather be at the bar. Now you’re going to train him instead while I head up the bar.” she said.

“Look here, I didn’t take this job to train some inexperienced whelp how to mix. And for the last time I said I prefer Spike.” he said letting his anger out.

“As long as you want to get paid, you will do exactly what I tell you to do. And as long as I’m your boss I will call you whatever I want. So do you train the man or do you start looking for another job? And before you answer let me remind you that there aren’t anymore bars in Sunnydale.” she said knowing she had the upper hand.

“I’ll do it as long as I get to head the bar at least one night.” he said trying to negotiate.

“I think I can arrange that. I’ll send you all the information you need. See you soon, Mr. Hart.” she said then hung up.

“Bloody hell.” he yelled when he heard a dial tone. ‘What the fuck have I gotten myself into.’ he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Friday night, Buffy found herself facing a group of employees, minus a certain Brit.

She began her speech. “I’ve invited you all her to meet each other and our hours. First of all, the coffeehouse will be open from 8am to 5 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday because the bar won’t be open on these days. The rest of the days the coffeehouse will be open from 8 to 4. At four, the Grind will close down. The bar staff will come in and we will transform the place into a bar. The bar stays open until midnight on Thursday and Sunday. I’ll stay open until two on Friday and Saturday. I think that covers the hours. Oh yeah and we open on Monday. Do you have any questions?”

Xander spoke up. “Yeah when will I train?”

“The other bartender will be training you during your work hours. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday you’re free to come here and practice, since I live upstairs.” Buffy said.

“Okay,” he said disappointed that he wasn’t going to train with the beautiful blond.

“Any other questions?” she asked. Everyone just shook there head. “Well I guess you are free to mingle.” Everyone got up and started talking excitedly.

“Anya could I talk to you?” Buffy asked startling Anya. She nodded her head. “Well, I have an extra bedroom upstairs and I was wondering if you’d want to be my roommate?”

“Well,” Anya thought for a minute, “okay. I guess I could do that. You can’t be worse than my current roommate. I’ll tell her tonight that I’m moving out tomorrow. Is that too soon?” Buffy just shook her head. “The only thing I have to say is that I will be having sex while I’m living there and I scream sometimes. Will that be a problem?”

Buffy just shook her head at the woman’s ability to be so open. “No, that’s okay just don’t do it all the time.” Buffy laughed.

“Don’t worry. Most guys just give me the normal orgasm.” she said causing them both to laugh.

“Oh! I have one other favor to ask. I need you to deliver some papers to the new bartender. I’d do it, but I think I should stay here and talk to my employees.” Buffy said handing Anya an envelope.

“Sure no problem. I guess I’ll go deliver these to him, now. Is this his address?” Anya said looking at the envelope.

Buffy nodded. “Yeah, he was moving in today.”

“Okay,” Anya said grabbing her coat. “I be going now. See ya tomorrow.” She was out the door two seconds later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knock, knock, knock.

“Who the hell could that be?” Spike said getting off of the couch. He had been moving all day and was exhausted. He opened the door and smiled when he saw Anya standing there.

“Hey there.” she said.

“Hey what are you doing here?” he asked.

“I have some papers that you need.” she said hoping he would invite her in.

“Oh, okay.” He moved out of her way. “Come on in. Do you want something to drink?” he asked going over to an enormous bar.

Anya knew she wanted this man so she took a chance. “A Comfortable Screw.”

Spike smirked at her and began to make her drink. “Great drink with a great name.” he said. He took the drink to her and sat down on the couch next to her. “So why did you come here tonight? Was it just to deliver those papers?”

She smiled, put her drink down on the table and straddled Spike. “No, I was horny and I thought you would be able to give good orgasms.”

“Well, I don’t want to brag but..” he was cut off by Anya kissing him hard while pressing him into the couch. Spikes hands went to her waist, kneading the exposed skin he found. Slowly he moved his hands up to her breasts, pinching her nipples through her bra. Anya started to tug at his shirt. He kissing her long enough to remove his shirt while she removed her shirt and bra as well. He started kissing her again. His hands once again found her nipples, making her moan into his mouth. Anya reached down and unzipped his pants. He shuddered when he felt her touch his cock. She started stroking him making sure he was ready. She reached over into her purse and pulled out a condom. She rolled it on slowly, making him moan loudly. He under her skirt, rubbed her center. She quickly stood removing her skirt and panties. She straddled him and was about to sink onto him when he stopped her. She looked at him confused but he just smirked at her. Starting at her neck, he ran his hand down the front of her body all the way down to her center. He entered her with one finger slowly pumping it, before adding another. He ran his thumb over her clit sending her into a sudden orgasm. Before she could come down, he slammed her down onto his aching cock.

“Oh God... ungh... yes...so good...” she moaned as he slammed into her rapidly. Soon she felt her muscles tightening. “Oh god...Spike...I’m..ungh...I’m...I”M CUMMING!!” She screamed.

He couldn’t hold off anymore. He thrust into her three more times before cumming with a shout of his own.

They sat there for some time panting. Spike finally broke the silence. “Was your Comfortable Screw to your liking?” he smiling

“Definitely.” she said smiling back.

A/N: Please tell me what you think. This is the first sex scene I've ever written. I wanted it to be quick and kind of impersonal. Should I take it out? Keep it? Please tell me.

A/N: I know that a lot of people hated reading the Anya/Spike smut and I really didn't like writing it either, but I needed it for the story. Please hang in there and keep reading and reviewing.

Buffy looked at her clock. It was eight in the morning on Saturday and someone was calling her. She was not a happy camper. She reached for the phone and jerked it up.

“Hello!!” she answered.

“Buffy, this is Anya. I was wondering when I could move in. I want to get out of this apartment.” Anya said rapidly.

“Um, yeah give me a few minutes to get up and take a shower and stuff. Then you can start moving your stuff over here.” Buffy said climbing out bed.

“Okay. I’ll see ya in a bit.” Anya said and hung up.

Thirty minutes later, she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and found Anya standing there surrounded by boxes.

“I brought all of my boxed stuff up already. I just need to unpack these and you can help me bring the bed.”Anya said.

“Okay, I’ll help you carry those in.” Buffy said and grabbed a couple of boxes. “So why did you want to get out your old apartment so fast?” She asked.

“I kind of came home at midnight, which she considers late. She got pissed and started complaining about how I know that she has to wake up early in the morning. I couldn’t take it anymore. I just wanted to get out.” Anya explained.

“I understand. Where’d you go last night? I thought you would come to back to the club. You did deliver those papers right?”

“Oh yeah. That’s why I didn’t come back last night. I was having sex with Spike.” Anya said.

Buffy dropped the box she was carrying on the floor in Anya’s room. She turned around looking shocked. “You’re not serious.” she said. Anya just nodded. “Anya, how could you have sex with the guy. You just met him.”

“Well he invited me in. He’s good looking and I was horny. What can I say?” Anya said with a shrug.

“Anya, I want to be the cool boss and a good roommate, so I don’t mind if you date this guy..” Buffy started but interrupted.

“Oh, we aren’t dating, we are going to the friends with benefits thing.” Anya said.

“Okay..” Buffy said slowly. “I don’t mind that you do that as long as it doesn’t effect the business. I don’t want any of my employees to quite because they’ve had a fight with their co-worker boyfriend.”

“Don’t worry. If either of us want to have a relationship, we’ll stop. I’m not emotionally involved with this one.” she said.

“Okay. Well now that that’s settled let’s bring up your bed.” Buffy said still a little troubled about Anya’s relationship with the bartender.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, Anya and Buffy were sitting in the living room watching tv.

“So what happened at the party last night?” Anya said wanting all the juicy info.

“Well, I’m glad I hired Harmony for the coffeehouse and not the bar shift. She’s really ditsy. And Kendra’s worked in a coffeehouse before so she’ll be a great asset. Willow and Tara hit it off real well. They’re both Wiccan and I think they’re both gay. They’re really sweet and they would make a really cute couple. Faith’s cool. She’ll add some spice to the place. Xander’s really goofy. I think and hope everyone will get along. You know we open on Monday and I haven’t met one of my employees. You apparently like him and my mom liked him so I hope he works out.”

“Oh he definitely works out.” Anya laughed.

“Anya, there are some things that I really don’t need to know about. The body of the man your sleeping with would be one of them.” she said laughing.

“Buffy, you’re my friend now, so it’s my job to tell you the truth and give you support so here it goes. You will do great Buffy. You’ve hired great people, including me. You need to relax and enjoy what you’ve created.” Anya said. “Now tell me how this little idea came about.”

Buffy stared at Anya for moment wondering how the girl came to be so open about everything. “Well, when I turned 18, I wanted to get a cool job. I have always been obsessed with mixing. I went to bartending school and got a job at a bar in LA. I loved the bartending but I hated my boss. From that point on I knew that was what I wanted to do. I worked at that bar for six years, trying to save up money. I worked at night and lived with and helped my grandmother during the day. One day she had a heart attack.” she looked down trying to keep her tears from falling. “I had to quite my job to take care of her full time, since she didn’t want a nurse. She died not long after that and I was devastated. I came here to Sunnydale because I missed my mom. She moved here when I graduated high school in LA. Anyway, my grandmother had a lot of money that me and mom didn’t know about. She gave me half and my mom half. That’s how I was able to open my own bar.” she finished her long story with a sigh.

“So, how much money did you get?” Anya said.

“After taxes, a little over $300,000 dollars a piece.” Buffy said.

“Oh my god. The woman was rich. That’s great you know.”Anya said excitedly. Buffy just shook her head.

“Yeah. I think I’m gonna go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning Anya.” Buffy said from door of her bedroom.

“Good night.” Anya yelled back.

A/N: Please review. Pretty please.

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. I never thought that this story would be liked that much. Please keep them coming. I also changed the name of the chapter b/c I had gone braindead and forgot that I posted another chapter by the same name earlier.

Monday morning...

She opened the doors, hoping that all of the advertising she did would pay off. People immediately started coming in and there had been a steady stream ever since. Buffy had gone upstairs to the apartment, which had also become her office, to do some paperwork when she heard the phone ring.

“Hello?” she answered.

“ `ello, pet.” Spike said. Buffy knew that distinctive voice anywhere, even though she had only heard it once.

“Mr. Hart, what can I do for you today?” Buffy said knowing that it got on his nerves.

“I was wondering if me and Xander could come by later to start his training.” Spike said shortly.

“Of course, come around an hour before closing. I’ve got books that you guys can use for basic stuff.” Buffy said.

“Okay, pet.” Spike said politely.

“Listen, Mr. Hart. I would appreciate it if you didn’t use pet names for me.”

“As long as call me Mr. Hart, I will call you whatever I like. See ya later.” he said and hung up before she could say another word.

Buffy slammed the phone down. ‘What did mom and Anya see in that man? I’ve only talked to him twice and we ended up arguing both times. This is going to be tough.’ Buffy thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike had gone to pick up Xander, thinking it would be easier, plus he wanted to know what he had gotten himself into. Xander was a cool guy and was good for a laugh, but he didn’t look forward to teaching him from the very beginning.

“Hey, while your inside getting everything set up, I’m going down to the convenience store and pick up some stuff. You want anything?” he asked getting out of the car.


“Yeah, could you pick me up some cigarettes?” he said giving Xander some money. Xander nodded and took off down the side walk.

Spike walked in the Grind, took off his sunglasses and looked around. They still have quite a few people even though it was later in the day. He continued to look around until something caught his eye. A girl was cleaning up behind the bar. Spike walked a little closer to get a better look at her. She was wearing a pair of low-ride jeans and a baby doll t-shirt that said ‘The Grind’ on it. Her hair was pulled up into a bun and was held up by chopsticks.

“Hey, luv. Do you know where I could find Buffy Summers?” he asked.

“Who wants to know?” she flirted knowing full well who was asking her. She would know that voice anywhere. She wanted to see if he would dig himself into a hole.

“Name’s Spike. I’m a bartender here.” Spike told her.

“Really? You any good?” She asked excitedly

“Back in London, I was the best bartender around.” he said.

“Cool. So you work here but you don’t know what the boss looks like?”

He shook his. “Her mom and Anya hired me, so I haven’t seen the chit yet. Although I’ve talked to her on the phone and I’ve gotta say, she kinda sounded like a tight ass.” he said with a smile.

“I think she’s kinda cool.” Buffy said.

“Yeah more like cold.” he scoffed. “You know how you get a picture in your head of someone?” Buffy nodded. “Well, let’s just say not that pretty.”

“Really.” Buffy said with a smile. ‘This guy just keeps digging himself deeper and deeper into that hole,’ Buffy thought.

He smiled at her. “So you never told me your name?”

“I know” she said with a smirk. Just then she saw Xander walk in and walk towards them. She knew her game was over now.

“Hey, Xander. How are you today?” Buffy said.

“Pretty good. I’m ready to learn.” he said rubbing his hands together.

“You two already know each other?”Spike asked.

Xander looked at Spike strangely. “Dude, this is Buffy. The owner of this place.”

Spike quickly turned to look at her. She raised her eyebrows and smirked. ‘The little chit is playing games with me.’ he thought.

“You did this on purpose.” Spike said in a low voice.

“Now, Mr. Hart, don’t be embarrassed. You were just telling me the way you really felt. I’ve gotta say, the feeling’s mutual. Although, I don’t think you’re a tight ass. I think smart ass might be a better word.” she said as she came out from behind the bar. “Xander, why don’t you get behind the bar and look around. You know get acquainted with everything. Spike, you come with me.” she said and walked away, knowing that Spike would follow. They walked up the stairs and into Buffy’s apartment/office.

“Have a seat.” she said gesturing to the couch. She sat down in a chair across from him. “Mr. Hart, it’s apparent that we don’t like each other very much. But I don’t think we know each other that well either. My mom said that you are a good bartender and I believe her, so I’m willing to give you a chance. I guess we’ll just have to try to get along `cause we’ll be working together. Can you do that?”

“Yeah. I can try.” he said. He looked like a little boy sitting in the principal’s office.

“Good. Another thing I wanted to talk to you about is your relationship with Anya.”

“How do you know about that?” Spike asked.

“Anya’s my roommate. I’ll tell you what I told her. I don’t mind you two being together, but please don’t let it hurt business. Okay?”

Spike tilted his head and studied her before answering. “Yeah. I understand where your coming from.”

“Good. Now that that’s settled, why don’t we grab those books for Xander.” Buffy said walking over to a stack of books. Spike nodded and grabbed half of them. They made their way back downstairs and to the bar.

“I need to go take care of some business things. You guys can stay here as long as you like. I’ll be back down later.” Buffy said. They both murmured an okay before grabbing one of the books.

Buffy turned around and started to walk away but stopped suddenly. “Oh and Spike, I can’t wait see if you’re as good as you say are.” Buffy said challengingly, then turned and headed back up the stairs to her apartment.

A/N: Tell me what you think.

A/N: Please review. Tell me what you think.

Buffy was extremely nervous. All of her bar staff was there getting everything ready including Xander. Spike and Xander had come to the bar for the last three days, so Xander could learn the basics. Buffy hadn’t seen Xander or Spike behind the bar yet, so she hoped that they would be okay tonight.

“Xander. Spike. Can I talk to you for a minute?” Buffy asked. They both nodded and made their way to the bar. “You ready for tonight, Xander?” she asked

“Yeah, I’m cool. A little nervous. I don’t want to screw up.” he said honestly. She nodded in understanding.

“I know exactly what you mean. I was extremely nervous my first time behind the bar. But part of that was because my boss wasn’t very nice. What about you Spike? Were you nervous?” Buffy said trying to give Xander some confidence.

“No. I knew I was going to do great.” Spike said. Buffy shot him an annoyed look. “What? I didn’t say I did do great. I think I got a total of one drink right and that was a beer.” Spike laughed. He looked over at Xander who had a frightened look on his face.

“Oh god. Maybe I should just wait to get behind the bar.” Xander said.

Buffy put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine. It’s a Thursday, so there might not be that many people here tonight. If you want to, you can watch Me and Spike for the first few minutes, then just jump in when you feel ready. I want you to get some experience tonight though okay?” she said gently.

He took her hand off of his shoulder and held it. “Thanks Buffy.” he said then kissed her hand.

“No..no problem.” she said flustered. “I’ve gotta go help the others.” she said shyly then turned around and left.

“Does the whelp have a crush on the boss lady?” Spike laughed.

“No. I was just saying thank you.” Xander said turning to face Spike.

“Yeah, right. I know that look. I’m surprised you didn’t get down on one knee and propose right here.”

“I think she’s sweet. Okay so maybe I do have a small crush, but you can’t deny that she’s pretty.” Xander said.

“Okay, she’s pretty, I’ll give you that.” he said. They both turned to look at her. She was dressed in a pair of tight black pants and a pink halter top. Her hair was in a bun again.

“Do you think I have a chance with her?” Xander asked.

“I don’t know, man. I don’t know her that well.” Spike said. “I’d say focus on your mixing right now then you can focus on your love life later. Come on, let’s finish getting ready.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy walked away from Xander and Spike towards Willow.

“Hey Wills, need some help.” Buffy asked.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” Willow said grabbing a chair and moving off of the dance floor. “So what were you talking about over there.” she said with a smile.

“Um, we were telling Xander not to be nervous about his first day.” she said getting flustered again.

“Oh, he definitely didn’t look nervous to me. Actually he looked kinda smitten.” she laughed.

“I know. I don’t want to hurt his feelings but I don’t like him like that.” she said.

“Well he apparently likes you. Oh my Goddess. Don’t look now but they’re totally staring at you.” Willow whispered.

“They?” she asked not really wanting to look.

“Yeah, Xander and the hottie bartender.” Willow said.

“What? I thought you were gay, Wills.” Buffy said shocked.

“I am. But I can still spot a good looking guy.”

“You think he’s a hottie?” Buffy asked

“Oh yeah. In that bad boy kinda way. Don’t you?”

“Yeah.” She said simply and picked up a chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy was right. Tonight was a slow night. A few people came in to have an after work drink so she let Xander take care of them. She knew it was Thursday, but she had expected a better turn out.

“Are you Buffy Summers?” a man asked. Buffy looked up and saw a tall man with sandy blonde hair.

“Yeah, what can I do for ya?” she asked with a smile.

“Well, I was wondering if you were hiring?” he said.

“I’m sorry, but all my positions have been filled.” she said with a sympathetic smile.

“Well I saw that you don’t have a person at the door, checking IDs and making sure things don’t get out of hand. I was hoping maybe I could be that person.” he said.

“Okay, come by tomorrow around noon and we can talk about it. Okay Mr.?” she said.

“Finn. Riley Finn. And that sounds great. Thanks.” he said. He turned and walked out the door.

Buffy threw her head down and started banging it on the bar.

“Pet, if your trying to remodel the bar, there are easier ways to do it.” Spike said with an amused look on his face.

Buffy immediately stopped and glared at him. “Fuck you, Spike. I don’t need your shit right now.” she said in a low voice so no one around would hear her.

“What the hell crawled up your ass, Summers?” he said with a frown.

“I’m sorry. I just thought I had everything covered and some stranger comes in and pretty much tells me, ‘Nope, you forgot something’.” she said.

“What did you forget? It couldn’t be that big of a deal.” he said.

“I forgot to hire a bouncer. I own a bar and I forgot the damn bouncer. I have a guy coming tomorrow to apply for the job.” Buffy said shaking her head.

“Well then that’s covered, so why are you getting up close and personal with the bar?”

“I’m just stressed and seemed like the best option at the time.” Buffy said.

“Look why don’t I fix you a drink then you can go upstairs and destress. What would you like, luv?” Spike said.

“Why should I let you make me a drink? We don’t like each other remember. How do I know that you won’t do something funky to it.” she said with a smile.

“You don’t. I guess you’ll have to trust me, pet.” he said leaning forward.

She took a step back. “I don’t trust anyone, especially you. I’ll leave that to Anya and Xander. They both seem to like you and trust you.” she said. “I think I’ll go upstairs and sleep. You take over the bar.” she said and left before he could say anything. “Willow could you lock up tonight?” she asked, Willow nodded. “Thanks.”

Buffy went upstairs, got into bed and immediately went to sleep. Later that night she heard moaning coming from Anya’s bedroom. ‘Well I guess somebody needed to celebrate. Good thing I bought earplugs.’ she thought. She reached into her bedside table grabbed the earplugs and went back to sleep unable to hear anything.

A/N: I love reviews even the critical ones. Tell me what you think.

A/N: Please tell me what you think.

Buffy woke up refreshed. She had finally had a good nights sleep. Now Riley sat in her apartment/office interviewing for the bouncer position.

“So Mr. Finn, why don’t you tell me about yourself.” Buffy said politely.

“Well, I moved here from New York. I was a bouncer there. I really like it. I had been looking for a job in LA and they didn’t need any bouncers there. I saw an advertisement and drove down here to see if you needed anyone.” he explained.

“So you live in LA right now?” she asked.

“No, I’m living at a motel while I look for a job and then an apartment.” he said.

“So, could you start tonight?” she asked hopefully. He nodded. “Good! The bar staff comes in at 4 to help transform the Grind into the bar. Can you do that?”

“Sure. I don’t have a problem with that.” he smiled.

“Then I guess you’re hired. I have some paper work for you to fill out. Let me get it.” she went to the desk and got the papers. He filled out the papers and handed them back to her.

“Thanks. I’ll walk you back down stairs.” Buffy said and turned to walk out the front door.

“Um, Buffy. I was wondering if you would like to go out with me some time, just for a drink.” Riley said shyly.

“Riley, I own a bar. The only bar in town in fact.” she said.


“How about after we close? We have one drink, that’s all I ask.” he said.

“Okay, but only one. Now let’s go downstairs.” she said opening the door and leading the way.

Riley followed her downstairs and told her he would see her at 4. Buffy walked over to where Anya, Willow and Tara, who had come to hang out, were sitting.

“ I just hired that guy, Riley.” she announced.

“That’s good. Now we have some control. I can’t believe we all forgot about a bouncer.” Willow said.

“He asked me to have a drink with him later, like after we close tonight. I was wondering if you would hang around, too. I would rather not be alone.” Buffy said.

“Sure, no problem. I probably won’t be able to sleep well tonight anyway.” Willow said.

“You know I’ll hang out. We can make it like a group thing.” Tara said.

“We can invite the two good looking bartenders too. Xander has very nice arms.” Anya said excitedly.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll ask them when they show up.” Buffy said.

“Why don’t you go on a date with him? He obviously likes you.” Tara asked.

“I don’t know. I just didn’t feel that spark, you know. I’m sure he’s an okay guy, but I’m not looking for okay. I can be sarcastic, ya know. I’ve met him twice and I’m already afraid to say the wrong thing around him.”

“Have you ever felt that spark with anyone?” Willow asked.

“No.” she said sadly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day...

“Xander. Spike. Can I talk to you?” she said having the feeling of deja vu.

“What do you need, pet?” Spike asked.

“I was wondering if you guys would like to stay after the bar closes and hang out. The bouncer asked me to have a drink with him, but I don’t want to be alone.” Buffy said.

“Yeah, sure I’ll stay.” Xander said happily.

“What’s wrong, Summers, you afraid of the new bouncer?” Spike said.

“No, I told you before, I don’t trust anyone. I don’t want to be here alone with him.” Buffy said honestly.

“Sure, I’ll stay, too.” he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh, my God. I know that we made up for last night.” Buffy said when she finally locked the doors to the bar.

“I know it was busy and everything, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep anytime soon.” Willow said trying to give Buffy the chance to invite them to stay in front of Riley.

“Me and Riley were going to have a drink. Do you guys want to stay and hang out?” She asked Willow, Tara, Spike, Xander and Anya, already knowing what they were going to say.

“Yeah.”“Sure”“Okay” they all answered.

“Um, Buffy? Can I talk to you for a minute?” Riley asked.

“Sure.” she said following him.

“I thought we were going to be alone.” Riley whined.

“I know but they want to hangout. What? Am I supposed to tell them no?” she asked.

“Yeah.” he said.

“Then I can already tell you that a relationship beyond friendship could never work. I don’t like having to choose between my friends and who ever I date. I haven’t even been on a date with you and you’re already trying to make me choose. I’m sorry, Riley.” Buffy said.

Riley stared at her a moment before walking out the back door.

Buffy walked over to where the rest of the group was standing. “Riley won’t be joining us tonight. I would still you to stay and have a drink with me.” she said.

Everyone agreed to stay. Buffy went behind the bar and grabbed a small stereo she kept back there just in case turned and put in a CD with a mix of songs on it.

“Hey, Summers you remember that little challenge when we first met. I say we compete. You take half the group, I’ll take the other half.” he said with a smirk.

“Okay, I’ll take yours, Willows, and Anya’s. You take the others.” Buffy said back. He nodded.

“Okay guys. We’re about to show off for each other. Buffy goes first. She’ll take mine, Willow’s and Anya’s drink order and mix them.”

“Just a minute let me get loosened up first.” she said. Buffy kicked off her boots. She went behind the bar and took her chopsticks out of her hair. She bent over, shook her hair out, and threw her head back. “Okay, What’re you having?” Everyone stood there in shock. This was the first time they had seen her with hair down, with the exception of Anya.

‘My god. Now I know what the whelp saw in her. She’s gorgeous.’ Spike thought. Her honey blonde hair fell into soft wave around her face and down her back. She had decided to go with all black tonight. ‘I would love to run my hands... no, bad thoughts. Can’t have bad thoughts about her. You don’t like her remember.’

“What?” Buffy said when no one spoke. Everyone just shook their head.

“I’ll have a martini, sweet, two cherries.” Anya said.

“Um, I’ll take a Mai Tai.” Willow said with a smile.

Buffy nodded at the orders then looked at Spike. “Okay, let me have it.” she said with a smirk.

“Zombie’s Punch.” he said. Buffy just rolled her eyes.

She turned around and grabbed all three glasses without stopping. She made the martini first, then Willow’s Mai Tai. She flipped the bottles effortlessly. She knew that Spike would test her, so she made his last. ‘She’s great. So graceful. No wonder she chose to this.’ Spike thought. She sat all the glasses in front of the appropriate person, clapped her hands together and yelled ‘Viola’.

They all clapped including Spike and she took a small bow. “Your turn.” she said with a smile, glad that she had impressed everyone including Spike.

Spike got up and took his place behind the bar. “Okay, my turn. What’s going to be people?”

“I’ll have a Rob Roy.” Xander said. Spike nodded.

“Mojito” Tara said.

Spike looked at Buffy. “What’re you gonna have, Slayer?” he asked.

Buffy smiled at the nickname, not knowing what it meant, then ordered. “A shot of French Fire.”

Spike started as Buffy had. He spun the bottles without spilling a single drop. He threw them up into the air for effect. ‘Now, I know why my mom hired him. Anya was right, he does work out...no bad thoughts..can’t have bad thoughts’ Buffy thought.

Spike ended his show the same way Buffy had. Everyone clapped for him too, including Buffy. She joined Spike behind the bar. “So what do you think guys? Who won?” she said looking around her.

Willow spoke for the group. “We can’t choose. You both mix great, almost the same. You guys should put on shows. That would bring people in.” she laughed.

Buffy laughed too, then looked at Spike. “I guess we tied.” she said holding out her hand so he could shake it.

“Yeah, luv, I guess so.” he replied kissing the back of her hand never breaking eye contact.

“Um, yeah. I feel like dancing.” she said quickly snatching her hand away like she was being electrocuted. She ran around the bar and grabbed Willow and Tara. “Come on. Dance with me.” she said. “Anya get over here and dance.” Anya got up from her chair and made her way to the dance floor.

After one fast song a slow song came on. Willow grabbed Tara around the waist and started to rock together. Buffy saw Anya ran off the dance floor and assumed that she was going to get Spike. She was surprised when Anya and Xander came strolling onto the dance floor. Buffy shut her eyes. ‘Shit. That leave me with Spike and I doubt that he....’ Buffy snapped out of her trance when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Spike looking down at her.

“May I have this dance?” he said in a low voice. Buffy just nodded. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently rocked her.

“Why did you call me Slayer earlier?” she said locking eyes with him.

“Because knocked out that those drinks without skipping a beat. You’re really good, you know.” he whispered.

“Thanks. You’re just as good as you said you are. I think I may begin to trust you now. Friends?” she asked.

“Friends.” he said. He felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Xander standing there.

“Can I cut in?” Xander asked. Spike nodded and reluctantly removed his arms from around her waist. Xander took his spot.

Spike started dancing with Anya but couldn’t stop thinking about the girl that had been his arms seconds ago.

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__________________________________________________

Two Weeks Later....

Xander had gotten down the basics giving Spike and Buffy the chance to show off their skills to the public. Xander would handle anything basic, Spike and Buffy would mix the more complex drinks. People would order the more complex drinks just to watch them. Tonight the crowd was extremely encouraging. They clapped and cheered, giving the blond duo behind the bar an energy boost.

“What’ll you two have?” Buffy asked the older couple sitting at the end of the bar.

“They’ll have a Bloody Mary and a Scotch Old-Fashioned, luv. I’ll get the scotch, if you get Mary.” Spike said from behind her. Buffy looked at the couple, both of them nodded and smiled. She turned to Spike who had started to make the scotch.

“What’s with the sudden psychicness?” she asked with a smile.

“Not psychic, pet. Those are my parents.” he answered her grinning back.

“Oh. You go chat with them and I’ll fix that drink.” she said.

“Here you go, Giles. Buffy will have that Bloody Mary here in a minute.” Spike said. “What are you guys doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, it’s just a surprise.” Spike said as he leaned across the bar to give his mother a kiss on the cheek. He then shook his stepfather’s hand.

“We wanted to see you doing what you love, honey.” his mother said.

“Here you go. One Bloody Mary.” Buffy sat the drink down.

“Buffy this is Jenny, my mother, and Giles my stepdad.” Spike said introducing them.

“I’m Buffy. I own the bar.” Buffy said shaking their hands.

“You did a great job with the place.” Jenny said giving Buffy a smile.

Just then Joyce walked up. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Did someone designate tonight parents night?” Buffy said to Spike. She turned to her mom. “Hey, mom. Want something to drink?”

“Rolls Royce.” Joyce said. Buffy went to fix the drink. “So, what did she mean about parents night?” she asked Spike.

“Oh , these are my parents, Jenny and Rupert Giles.” Spike said. They all shook hands.

“So how have you...” Joyce started, when they heard a loud crash. Spike’s head jerked around to see what happened. Buffy was unconscious on the ground.

Spike rushed over to her side and started checking her for injuries. “Xander take over the bar.” Spike said. He gently picked her up and walked around the bar, Joyce following him. He looked at his parents. “Will you guys help me?” he asked quietly. They nodded and followed him. He walked up the stairs to the apartment and knocked on the door. Anya opened the door. Spike rushed in and waited for Anya to lead the way. They all walked into Buffy’s bedroom. Jenny made her way through the group to Buffy’s side and started checking her.

“Jenny was a nurse at a hospital in London. When she moved her she started working at the school.” Spike said to Joyce.

“Has this ever happened before?” Jenny asked to nobody in particualar.

“Not to my knowledge.” Spike said. He looked at Joyce.

“No, never.” she whispered.

“It looks like she fainted, but she didn’t injure anything else. We need to get her to the hospital to see what happened.” Jenny said to the group.

“Joyce and I will take her in my car. You guys can follow us.” Spike said. Everyone nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joyce and Spike sat in the waiting room. Anya had stayed at the bar to make sure everything ran okay. Spike had told Jenny and Giles to go home a little bit ago, telling them he would call them and tell them what had happened.

“Ms. Summers?” The doctor asked.

“Yes. What’s wrong? What happened to her?” Joyce asked. Spike put a hand on her back to try and calm her.

“She’s okay now. She seems to have what is called arrhythmia, abnormal heartbeat. Her heart was beating too fast. We’ve given her some medication to normalize her heartbeat. Has she been under a lot of stress lately?” he asked.

“She just opened her own business.” Joyce said.

“That’s probably the cause. We’ll keep her overnight to monitor her. We’ll also give her a prescription to keep this from happening again. The stress in her life should decrease. We’ll have her come back in a few weeks and check her.” the doctor said.

“Thanks, doctor. Can we see her now?” Joyce asked.

“Of course. Follow me.” he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Buffy, sweetheart?” Joyce said when she walked into the room.

“Hey mom. Spike?” Buffy said.

“Hey, luv. How ya feeling?” he asked.

“Okay I guess, considering I’ve been unconscious for most of the night.” she said with a smile.

“Do you want anything to eat or drink, honey?” Joyce asked.

“Yeah, I could definitely eat. I could use some water too.” Buffy said.

“I go down to the cafeteria and see what I can find.” Joyce said. She walked out the door shutting it behind her.

“You gave us a scare, luv.” Spike said, pulling a chair up next to her bed.

“It happened so fast. The last thing I remember doing is grabbing a bottle, then I was here. I was scared when I woke up here. I hate hospitals.” she said letting her tears go.

Spike took her hand and kissed it. “You’ll be outta here tomorrow. We’ll stay here for the rest of the night.”

“Why are you going to stay here?” Buffy whispered.

Spike leaned up and kissed her on the forehead. “Because you’re my friend.” he said.

“Thank you, Spike.” she said.

/////////////////////////////

“You ready to go home, Buffy.” Joyce said walking into the hospital room the next morning.

“Yeah, I’ll be glad to get out of here.” Buffy said climbing out of the bed.

“Come on, pet. Let’s get you into the wheelchair.” he said helping her out of the bed.

“I don’t need a wheelchair. I can walk just fine.” she pouted

“Hospital rules. Plus the faster you get into the chair, the faster we can get you out of here.” Spike said trying to convince her. She nodded her consent.

Joyce stood there watching Spike and Buffy. She knew that they were friends but she really liked Spike and hoped that someday it would be more.

All three of them walked out of the hospital and to Spike’s car.

“Geez, Spike. Will there be enough room?” Buffy said sarcastically.

“What? It’s a classic.” he said opening the door of the black DeSoto.

“Uh huh. I think your compensating for something.” Buffy whispered as she got into the car. She grinned when she looked back at his shocked face. “Come on, Spike I wanna go home.”

He got into the car and behind the wheel. Buffy sat next to her mom and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. She felt the car stop and sat up.

“I’m gonna to run into the store to get some cigs. You girls want anything?” Spike said. Joyce shook her head.

“Chocolate, anything chocolate.” Buffy said with a big smile. Spike nodded and got out of the car.

Joyce waited until Spike was in the store to speak. “He’s a good guy, you know. I think he would have done anything for you last night.”

“What do you mean?” Buffy said confused.

“He was by your side the entire time. He carried you everywhere. He was just as concerned as I was.” Joyce said.

“He’s my friend, mom. That’s all.” Buffy said. Joyce looked into her daughter’s eyes.

“You like him more than a friend, don’t you?” she said softly.

“Yeah, I do.” Buffy whispered before Spike opened the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They all walked into the apartment and sat on the couch. “They told you you have to relax for 48 hours.” Joyce said.

“I can’t just sit here in the apartment for two days. I’ll go crazy. I need to go down and see how everything’s going.” Buffy said.

“Anya’s down there. Everything will be fine, pet. I’ve got an idea. The bar is closed tonight. We do a movie night thing. Pull an all nighter thing and invite the Scoobies. You need a little fun, luv.” Spike said using the nickname the bar staff had started calling themselves.

“That sounds cool. I haven’t done something like that in ages.” Buffy said.

“That’s a great idea. He’s right you need to have some fun.” Joyce said with a smile. “I have to go and do some things at the gallery. Take care and have fun, sweetie.” Joyce said giving Buffy a hug. She stood and walked over to Spike. “Thanks for everything, Spike.” She said and gave him a kiss on the cheek and left.

“I’ll go get the movies and some food. You call the scoobs and tell them what’s going on.” Spike said.
“What kind of movies should I get?”

“Oh, I love ‘The Princess Bride’ and Monty Python movies.” she said with a smile.

“Alright can do. I’ll get a few others just for variety.” Spike said getting up.

Buffy grabbed his arm. “Thank you for everything Spike.” she said.

“No problem, pet.” he said as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “ I’ll be back later.” he said and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Spike came back all the Scoobs were there. Spike got all the food ready and brought it into the livingroom.


“So what are we watching first?” he asked.

“The Princess Bride. Comedy and fight scenes, can’t beat that.” Buffy said.

Everyone situated themselves as Spike put in the movie. Tara and Willow cuddled up on an old bean bag chair. Spike, Buffy, and Xander all sat on the couch, while Anya leaned against Xander’s legs.

Spike had a hard time paying attention to the movie. Buffy had made herself comfortable by leaning on Spike. Every time she laughed, he felt tingle go up his spine. ‘She is sweet and beautiful.’ Spike thought.

The movie ended without Spike really knowing it. Buffy sat up and stretched. “What should we do now?”

Tara spoke up softly. “I know we’re all kind of old but I think we should play a game.”

“Sounds like fun.”“Cool”“Sure” they said.

“What game you thinkin’ of?” Spike asked.

“Truth or Dare.”

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Everyone in the room sat quiet for a moment. That was the last thing that they had expected out of the shy girls mouth.

“I don’t know, I was always horrible at that game.” Buffy said. “People would make fun of me because I couldn’t come up with good enough questions and stuff.” she admitted.

“Oh. I have an idea. We could play in pairs.” Willow said.

“How would that work?” Buffy asked.

“Well, both would do the dare and answer the question. But you would be able to discuss what you are going to ask. Come on Buffy. We need to let loose a little.” Willow said with a smile.

“Okay” Buffy relented. “So how should we split up?”

“Well, it’s obvious that Willow and Tara are going to be together, since they’re having sex.” Anya said.

Willow and Tara both bowed their head and blushed. “Yeah, we were hoping we could be together.” Willow said.

“I think we all kinda knew that already, Red.” Spike said trying to ensure both of them that it was okay.
“So, what about the rest of us?”

“Anyone got a quarter?” Tara said. Willow and Tara had started to take over the game.

“Yeah.” Xander said throwing a quarter to them. “What’s it for?”

“We’ll flip the coin. Heads is Spike and tails is Xander. Whichever side it lands on is paired with Buffy.” Tara said. Everyone nodded. Tara threw the coin in the air. When it landed everyone held their breath.

“It’s tails.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Tara had done the coin toss, Spike went and made everyone drinks except for Buffy. He fixed a coke for her.

“Okay, have you decided how we’re going to start?”Spike asked.

“I think that me and Willow should start asking. And we’ll start with basic kind of stuff to get comfortable.” Tara started. “Okay, um, Spike and Anya, truth or dare?”

“Truth.” Anya said being the spokesperson for her and Spike.

“Something simple. What’s your middle name?”

“Christina.” Anya answered. “Philip” Spike said.

Tara smiled glad that they didn’t say anything about the simple question. “Okay, now it’s your turn. And remember, simple to start.” she said nodding her toward Spike and Anya.

“Okay. Xander and Buffy, truth or dare?” Anya asked.

“Truth.” Xander said taking over for him and Buffy.

“Um, what’s your favorite movie?” she said rolling her eyes.

“I would say Apocalypse Now.” Xander said. “The Breakfast Club. I love the bad boy.” Buffy said not seeing the look of surprise that passed across Spike’s face. Willow and Tara shared a smile.

“Anya. Truth or Dare?” Xander asked.

“What about Tara and Willow?” she asked.

“I want to ask you guys. We don’t have a specific order.” Xander said.

Anya pouted. “Truth.”

Xander thought for a minute. “Tell us about your first real kiss.” Buffy said before Xander could give the question.

“I was fifteen. I was at a party and we were playing spin the bottle. The bottle landed on the guy I liked and I wanted to him to remember me. We dated for a year after that party.” Anya said.

“I was fourteen, she was my friend and it was a dare.” Spike said with a smirk.

“Goody, it’s our turn.” Willow said. She whispered something in Tara’s ear. “Xander, truth or dare?” Tara said outloud.

Xander looked at Buffy, who mouthed truth. “Truth.” he said.

“Tell us about your first real kiss.” Tara said with a smirk. Buffy had told Willow about her first kiss before, and knew that it would embarrass her.

Xander answered first. “I was at my eighth grade dance. I was dancing to a slow song with my date and she kissed me.”

Buffy looked down at her hands. She was embarrassed that she was having to tell this. “It was a year after I started working as a bartender, so I was nineteen. I was about to get off of work and I was walking around the club. This guy walks up to me and starts talking about the club. We talked for about an hour. He was a nice guy that I thought I could be friends with. All the sudden he gives me a big hug. I thought he was about to leave. He took my hands and says he really likes me. Before I know what’s going on his tongue is being shoved down my throat. He pulled back and I was in shock. He started to kiss me and I don’t know why but I started to kiss him back. He pulled away again and asked if I was okay. I told him yeah but I need to leave. I walked away before he could say anything else. I didn’t even know his name.” she said. She always hated telling that story because she felt bad for doing it.

All of her friends just stared at her. “Wow.” Tara said breaking the silence.

Anya smiled. “Our turn. Tara, truth or dare?”

“Truth, but someone’s gonna have to choose dare soon.” Tara said.

“If you weren’t gay, what male celebrity would you like to sleep with?” Anya smiled, Spike just shook his head.

“Um, Johnny Depp.” Tara said. “Brad Pitt.” Willow said.

“Both good choices” Anya said.

“Anya, truth or dare?” Xander said.

“Dare.” she said with confidence.

“I dare you to show us a hidden talent.” Xander said.

“Okay, I can wrap my legs around my head.” Anya said getting up. She sat on the floor and preceded to show them. After she unwrapped herself, she sat back down and got comfortable. “Your turn, Spike.”

“Where true Love burns Desire is Love's pure flame;
It is the reflex of our earthly frame,
That takes its meaning from the nobler part,
And but translates the language of the heart.”
All of his friends looked at him in awe. “That was beautiful.” Buffy said.

“I was a geek in school and read all kinds of poetry.” he said looking at her shyly.

“Okie, Dokie, Anya, truth or dare?” Tara said.

“Truth.” she said.

“Out of everyone in this room, who would you want to sleep with the most, and why?” Willow asked.

“Xander, because I’ve already slept with Spike and I’m not gay.” Anya said.

“What!?!?” Tara and Willow said. “You already slept with Spike?” Tara asked.

Anya nodded with a smile on her face and Spike looked embarrassed. Tara looked at Buffy who had a hurt look on her face.

Buffy knew that they slept together, but since she realized the way she felt, it hurt her.

“What about you Spike?” Willow asked.

Spike decided to give a diplomatic answer. “I would be happy to be with any of you ladies.” he said hoping they would accept his answer. Everybody knew what he was doing and decided to let him off the hook.

“Tara, truth or dare?” Xander asked.

“Dare.” She said.

“I dare you to drink a shot with no hands.” he said quickly.

Both girls completed the dare without a problem.

“Anya, truth or dare?” Tara asked.

“Do you guys have something against me?” Anya asked.

“No, your just funny.” Tara said.

“Okay, dare.” she said.

Tara was about to test her theory and hoped nobody got hurt in the process. “I dare you and Spike to kiss each other. And I don’t mean a chaste little kiss.” Tara said.

Anya shrugged and nodded, but Spike’s eyes went wide. ‘There’s part of what I was looking for.’ Tara thought.

Anya looked at Spike and leaned back so he could make his move. Spike looked over at Buffy who had an indifferent look on her face. Spike moved toward Anya and started to kiss her. The kiss was not chaste but Spike made sure to make it as short as possible. When he looked up, Buffy was no longer in the room.

“I guess we should take a break.” Xander said. Everyone in the room nodded. The girls went to Buffy’s bedroom to find her, while the guys did their own thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knock, knock, knock.

“Buffy?” Willow said through the door. “Can we come in?” she asked.

They heard a muffled ‘yeah’ through the door and entered.

“Buffy, what’s wrong?” Tara asked.

“I felt dizzy all the sudden.” she lied.

“Really, cause I thought it was because you were hurt.” Tara said with a smile.

Buffy’s head jerked up. “Why would I be hurt?”

“Because you like Spike.” Tara stated.

“What?!” Willow and Anya said.

“You do, don’t you?” Tara said. Buffy was struggling with herself. She wanted to deny the truth, but she didn’t want to lie to her friends. She nodded after a few seconds.

“Oh my God. I didn’t know.” Anya said.

“I know you didn’t and I don’t want to come between whatever you two have. It’s just a crush.” Buffy said laying her head back down.

“Honey, we don’t have anything.” Anya said with a smile.

“Huh?” Buffy looked confused.

“We had sex once, but we never had a relationship.”

“But that first night that the bar open, I heard moaning coming from your room. I thought it you two.” Buffy said.

“Oh no. That was just me and a brand new toy.” Anya said.

“Oh.” Buffy said.

“So, are you okay, now?” Willow asked.

“Yeah, let me get freshened up a bit, okay.” Buffy said getting up off of the bed. All the girls nodded and left her room.

Knock, Knock.

“I said I’m okay now.” Buffy said. Buffy heard the door open and close and figured it was one of the girls.

“I’m glad to hear it, pet.” Spike said leaning against the door.

“Oh, hey. I didn’t think it was you.” Buffy said.

“What happened out there?” he asked walking toward her.

“I started to feel dizzy.”she lied.

“Are you okay? Not gonna have to take you back to the hospital am I?” Spike said with concern.

She turned from the mirror to face him. “No, I’m okay now.” she said giving him a big smile.

He stopped in front of her. “I just want you to be okay.” he said softly.

She reached her right hand up and stroked his cheek with her thumb. “Thank you.” she answered softly. She raised up and went to give him a kiss on the cheek. He suddenly turned his head and caught her lips with his. The kiss was soft at first. Spike’s tongue slowly licked along Buffy’s lower lip. She gasped at the cool touch and he took advantage of it by slipping his tongue into her mouth gently, asking permission to enter completely. She granted it when she opened her mouth more. The kiss was soft and passionate, everything a kiss should be. Spike pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

“Perfect.” he said. Buffy simply nodded still trying catch her breath.

“So, do you want to go out sometime?” he whispered.

Buffy pulled back to look into his eyes. “Yeah.” she whispered back before pulling him down for another kiss.

A/N: The poem in this chapter is 'Desire' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Please tell me what you think.

A/N: I just started back to school so it will take me longer to update. I love all the reviews that everyone have been writing. Please continue.

After that night, Buffy and Spike had been spending time together but hadn’t really had a true date. It was the next week when Spike approached her. The staff was starting to rearrange the Grind.

“Hey, luv.” Spike said walking toward Buffy, who was next to the bar.

Her face lit up when she heard him. “Hey!”

He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You look great too.” he whispered into her ear before pulling back.

Buffy blushed and looked down. “Thanks.” she said softly.

“Look” Spike started.“I know that we have things, to do right now, but I thought we could talk about that date.”


She looked up at him with a worried look on her face. ‘Oh, God. He doesn’t want to go out anymore.’ she thought.

“I thought we could do it tonight after the bar closes, since it’s an early night.”

“But, I don’t think that anything’ll be open to go eat at.” she said.

“That’s okay. I thought that we could go to the all-night grocery store. Buy some food, then we could either come back here or we could go to my place. How’s that sound, pet?” he said desperate to have an official date with her.

“Um, okay, wait here just a minute.” Buffy said running away from Spike. She ran and found Anya talking to Xander.

“Anya are you going to be home tonight?” she asked hurriedly.

“Yeah, why?” she asked.

“Um, I was going to have Spike over for dinner, but we can go to his place.” she said with a disappointed smile.

“Well, I could stay with Willow or something. I don’t want to ruin your date with Spike.” Anya said glad that her friend was finally thinking about something other than the bar.

“You could stay with me.” Xander said. After his initial crush on Buffy had quickly evolved into a friendship, he had started liking Anya.

“We could go on a date too.” Anya said excitedly.

“Sounds good.”

“Okay then. Looks like you have the apartment all to yourselves tonight.” Anya said to Buffy.

“Oh, thank you.” Buffy said giving Anya and Xander a hug. She then ran back over to Spike who hadn’t moved an inch.

“We can come back here.” she said with a big smile.

“Well then, looks like that’s all settled. Me, you, dinner tonight at your place.” he said.

“Great, now, let’s get to work.” she said pushing him toward the dance floor to help the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a Thursday night the bar was pretty busy. Buffy was having a good time tonight. Her business was becoming very popular and she was looking forward to her night with Spike.

“What can I get for you ma’am?” she asked a lady sitting at the bar.

“Gin and Tonic please.” she said politely.

Buffy turned around to start making the lady’s drink, when she felt a hand in the middle of her back.

“Hey, luv. How you doing tonight?” Spike said from behind her.

“I feel absolutely great.” she said with a smile.

“You look great too.” he whispered into her ear. She turned around and gave him a smile that made him weak in the knees.

“Thanks.” she said softly.

“So whacha makin’? I’ll take over for you. There’s some really weird bloke down at the end of the bar asking for you.” he said.

“What makes you think he’s weird?” she asked.

“Well, he ordered a Soul Taker with a Corona chaser.” he said.

Buffy froze when he mentioned the drink. She had only ever heard one person order that drink. “No, it can’t be. I can’t handle this now.” she whispered, oblivious that Spike had heard her.

“Pet? Who is it?” he asked concerned.

“No one, just finish the drink.”she said walking away. She walked to the end of the bar with dread.
There was a man sitting there looking around the bar and checking out the girls on the dance floor.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she said trying to reign in her anger.

“Buffy!! Nice place you have here.” he said turning around to face her. “Wow, lookin’ good babe.” he said looking her up and down.

“Angel, cut the shit and tell me what the hell you’re doing here.” she said.

“I heard about the bar up in LA. Thought I’d come on down and see it.” he said smirking at her.


“Well great!” she said with fake enthusiasm. “You came, you saw, now get the fuck out.” she said glaring at him.

“Am I distracting you, babe?”

“No, BABE, you’re not. You’re just annoying the hell out of me.” she paused trying to think about what would scare him away. “I still have that proof in my apartment, and I will use it. Now I’ll say it again, get the fuck out of my bar.” she said.

“You bitch. You wouldn’t do that to me, you’re too nice.” he said grinning.

“RILEY!!” she yelled across the bar. He immediately head toward the bar.

“Whacha need?” he asked.

“Through this asshole out of the bar and make sure he never gets back in.” she said.

“No problem. Come with me.” he said grabbing Angel’s arm.

“Get your hands off of me. I’ll leave on my own.”he said walking toward the door.

As soon as he was out the door, her confident posture fell into one of exhaustion. Spike was standing behind her.

“Are you okay, luv?” he asked gently.

“Yeah, I’ll go upstairs and rest.” she said turning to look at him. She saw the look of disappointment go across his face. She reached her hand up to touch his cheek. “I’ll come down a little before the bar closes and we can go to the store after that.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he said softly.

“Later.” she said before turning around and making her way toward her apartment.

A/N: Please tell me what you think.

A/N: Thanks for being so patient with me. I hope you like this chapter. Please tell me what you think.

Spike worked the rest of the night with Xander. The time seemed to move slower since Buffy had gone upstairs. When closing time finally came around he just about pushed all of the customers out the door. The bar staff made quick work of cleaning up the Grind. He seemed to have taken control of everything when Buffy went upstairs, but the truth was that he was just anxious to get his date started. Finally the only people left in the bar were Anya, Xander, and Spike.

“She said that she would come down before the bar closed. I don’t know who that guy was but she definitely didn’t like him.” Spike said worriedly.

“You should probably go upstairs and make her feel better.” Anya said smirking. “I’m staying with Xander tonight. We are having our own date night.”

“I’m glad you two finally got together.” Spike said.

Xander blushed and tried to make his leave. “I guess we’ll go now, then.”

“Thanks, man.” Spike said giving Xander a hug. He then turned to Anya and gave her a hug. “You go easy on him.” he whispered in her ear. Anya giggled as she pulled away.

“Bye Spike.” they both said as they left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy woke from her nap to someone knocking on the door. She got up off of the couch and opened the door.

“Hey Spike.” she yawned.

“Hey, pet. You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah. Shouldn’t you be downstairs at the bar?”

“Pet, the bar closed thirty minutes ago.” he said.

“Oh, I guess I went to sleep longer then I thought I did. Sorry I didn’t come down like I said I was.” she said stepping aside to let him in.

“Do you still want to have that late dinner? Or we could wait until another day.” he said disappointed.

“NO! I still want to. Let me grab my purse.” she said running into her room. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was slightly tousled. She pulled let her hair down out of her ponytail and brushed it out. She then applied some lipgloss and grabbed her purse. “Okay, I’m ready, let’s go.” she said opening the front door.

“Wow, you’re a bossy chit, aren’t you?” he said with a smile.

“What can I say? I’m hungry.” she said with a shrug. “So what are you going to cook?”

“What do you mean, what am I going to cook?” he said teasingly. He had already planned to do the cooking. They walked out the door to his car and headed to the store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forty-five minutes later the blond pair made their way back into Buffy’s apartment. Spike took the groceries into the kitchen while Buffy went into her bedroom to freshen up. She wanted to look good, but casual at the same time. She separated and put her hair into two braids. She changed into a pair of cutoff shorts and a baby doll t-shirt. She reapplied the minimal make-up that she wore. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and walked out of her room. She started walking into the living room when she saw that the dining table had been set up. Two tapered candles had been lit and a vase with 3 white roses had been placed in between them on the center of the table. In all her years of dating, no one had ever gone through this much to impress her. She walked into the kitchen, where Spike had begun to cook.

“Where did you candles and roses?” she asked startling him.

“Good God woman. You scared the shit out of me.” he said turning to face her. “I got them when you went to get ice cream.” he said with a smile happy that he had been able to keep them hidden. He turned back to the stove but continued to talk to her. “I went with something fast. Caesar salad, Fettuccine Alfredo, and we end with Mocha Chocolate Chunk. How does that sound?”

“That sounds absolutely great.” she said. “Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked looking around him at the stove.

“No, this all my doing. I want you to go sit down at the table and I will bring salad, alright, luv?” he said pushing her out of the kitchen.

“Okay.” she said as she sat down at the table. He smiled at her and went back into the kitchen. After a few minutes he came back with two salad and put them on the table. “Thanks. I love caesar salad.” she said.

“I’m glad.” he said taking a bite from the salad. “Luv, can I ask you a question?” he asked her gently.

“Um, sure.” she said putting down her fork.

“Who was the bloke who upset you earlier?” he asked.

She sat quiet for a moment before answering. “He’s a part of my past that I would like to forget.” she said picking her fork back up to begin to eating.

“Buffy, luv, I want to know about you. Everything about you, even if part of it happens to be a bad past.” he said. He reached across the table and grabbed her hands. “Please tell me.” he whispered.

She looked into his eyes and couldn’t deny the care that was present in them. “After we finish eating, and we can get comfortable, I promise I will tell you everything. For now let’s talk about more pleasant thing, okay?” she said.

“Okay, but we will talk about it.” he said patting her hands. He got up and took their salads into the kitchen. He came back with the pasta and bread. “Enjoy!” he said with a smile.

“What about you Spike? Do you have something bad that happened in the past that you would like to tell me about?” she asked while cutting her pasta.

“I think everybody has something painful in their past. I just don’t talking about mine. I can sum it all up in one word. Drucilla.” he said.

“Let me take a guess and say that it was an ex-girlfriend.” she said.

“You’d be right, pet. I met her when I was 21.” he said looking off into space. “She changed me from William to Spike. I loved her. She was my world, my everything. I thought those feelings were mutual. When we first started dating, she was the most caring person. Then she started to change, or maybe she just started to show her true self. We were together for four years before I actually caught her cheating on me in our bed. I told her that it was over. She asked me to forgive her. She would come to my work and try to get me back. I finally told her to forget me.” he looked at her. “See this scar?” he asked pointing at his eyebrow. Buffy nodded. “The last time I told her to get lost she decided to try and scratch my eye out. So that’s my bad past. That’s also one of the reasons that I moved here.” he said finishing his story.

“Oh, Spike, I’m sorry.” she said.

“Thanks, pet.” he said with a small smile. “But I didn’t tell you that so that you would feel sorry for me. I told you because it’s part of who I am, and I want you to know who I am and who I was.”

“I understand. I feel the same way.” she said nodding. “Let’s finish dinner first.”

The rest of their dinner was filled with talk about embarrassing moment and laughter. Spike finally took away the plates. “So what should we do now?” Spike asked.


“I think we should turn on the radio, sit on the couch, and keep talking.” she said taking his hand and leading him toward the couch. He sat down while she went over to the stereo and looked through some of her CDs. She found her favorite jazz CD and put it in. “My mom bought this for me one Christmas. I’ve loved it ever since.” she said walking back over to the couch.

“You both have great taste in music then, luv. I grew up listening to Miles Davis. Which is this?” he asked.

“The Essential Miles Davis.” she said listening to the music and staring of into space.

“So, luv, tell me what you’re thinking.” he said putting his arm around her.

She looked at him for a moment before starting. “The man who came to the bar earlier, Angel, he’s my ex - fiancé. My story is very close to yours. I met him at the bar that I was working at when I was 21 and he was 25. He asked me out and I said yes. We got to know each other and we started seeing each other all the time. After 2 years of dating he asked me to marry him and, of course, I said yes. After all that time I knew that I loved him but I never gave myself to him completely. Ya know?” she asked making sure Spike knew what she was talking about. He simply nodded not wanting to interrupt her. “Well, one night after we came home from a party we got a little carried away and we slept together. After that night he changed. He became possessive. He wanted me to quite my job and stop seeing my friends. I refused and we would argue but that was the extent of it.” She took a breath. “One night I went out with a group of friends. When I came home, he was drunk. He accused me of cheating and admitted that he had been cheating on me. I told him I was going to leave him and that the engagement was off. He...he hit me and threw me on the ground. He beat me until he wore himself out and passed out.” she started to cry as she remembered the worst night of her life.

Spike stretched out along the couch and pulled Buffy to lie against him. He cradled her allowing her to cry against his chest.

“I left and went to a friends house. She tried to convince me to go to the police but I just wanted to heal and forget about it. She finally convinced me to take pictures of my injuries. He came to beg for forgiveness, just as I knew he would. I told him that I had evidence against him and that I would show them to his bosses and to the police if he came around again. I never heard from again until tonight.” she finished through her tears. This was the first time she had ever told anyone the true story.

“Oh, God Buffy. Is that why you told me that you don’t trust people?” he whispered. She nodded against his chest. “Luv, you know you can trust me right?” he asked and again she nodded. He thought for a moment. “Pet, why would you threaten to show those pictures to his boss?”

“He’s a lawyer at a big law firm in LA, Wolfram and Hart. I knew that he wouldn’t want his perfect reputation tarnished with something like this.” she said. She continued to sniffle while being soothed by Spike’s breathing. Soon sleep overtook her, while Spike remained awake thinking about everything she had told him. Eventually the music and the warmth of Buffy’s body lulled him to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike awoke a little later with a mission. Gently he sat up and lifted Buffy into his arms carrying her into her bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed and left the room, closing the door softly behind him. He looked at the clock and noticed that it was a little after 9. He walked downstairs and made sure that everything was going okay, before heading back upstairs. He walked over to the phone and pulled out a card out of his wallet. He held it for several minutes before dialing the number. It rang a few times before a woman picked up.

“Hello, Kathy speaking. How may I help you?”she asked in a professional voice.

“Hey, Kathy. It’s William. Is my father in yet?” he asked politely.

“He is. Just one moment.” she said before the phone started to ring again. After a rings a man answered.

“Wolfram and Hart, this is Ethan Hart speaking.” the man said.

“Hey dad. Look I don’t I have a lot of time. I need to ask you for a favor.”

A/N: Please review. Tell me what you think. I hope I will have the next chapter up soon.

A/N: I want everyone to enjoy this story, so tell me what you like and don't like.


When Buffy woke up she felt oddly refreshed like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She suddenly noticed that she was no longer in the living room. She had been so comfortable laying there in Spike’s arms. It would’ve been the perfect night if she hadn’t had to explain her past. Buffy rolled over and grabbed a robe that was sitting on the chair next to her bed. She stood up and put it on, even though Spike was had already seen what she was wearing. As soon as she opened the door, she was greeted by the smell of bacon. She walked quietly through the apartment and into the kitchen. He stood there barefoot, wearing only a pair of jeans and a wife beater.

“Smells good.” she said in a voice deepened from just waking up.

“I thought you could use something good to eat this morning.” he said walking away from the stove and toward her. He gave her a brief kiss on her forehead, then another on her cheek. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. For the first time since he met her, she looked well rested. He slowly bent his head and captured her lips. It was sweet and slow. She pulled back first with a big smile. Suddenly she covered her mouth in shock.

“What?” Spike asked concerned.

“You kissed me. I probably have morning breath.” she said.

“I thought you tasted great.” he said with a smirk. “Look, I’ll finish breakfast. You go do your morning routine, okay?”

Buffy nodded and walked away. Spike stood there watching her for a moment before going back to the stove and finishing breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy and Spike sat at the table eating chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. They sat in a comfortable silence until Spike finally spoke.

“Um, Buffy. I was wondering if you would like to go to LA with me. I thought about going on Monday. You could let Anya take over for you on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I mean if you want...” Spike rambled.

“Spike!” she interrupted his rant. “I think that’s a great idea. Then we could go to a bar that we don’t work at.”

“Really. That’s’ great. I’ll make the reservations tomorrow.” he said with a big smile.

“Great. Speaking of next week what are you going to wear for Halloween? It’s on Friday, so we’ll be open later that night. It’ll probably be busy too. I’d say dress for tips.” she said.

“I almost forgot. I usually don’t dress up for Halloween, but since I’ll be working I guess I’ll have to. What are you going to dress as?” he asked.

“It’s a secret.” she said with a grin.

“Really. Is it something sexy?” he asked with smirk, curling his tongue behind his teeth.

Buffy fought hard not to blush and instead decided to be confident. “Maybe. You’ll find out on Friday.”

“Can’t wait, luv.” he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday came around and Buffy was nervous. She and Spike hadn’t even been on a real date and yet she was going to LA with him. Anya had been happy to hear that Buffy and Spike had hit it off so well. When Buffy asked if she would take over for her on Monday and Tuesday, she had pouted until she realized that that would give her and Xander the apartment.

Buffy heard a knock at the door around noon and ran to get it. Spike stood there leaning against the doorframe when she opened it.

“Hello, luv. You look beautiful this morning.” he said walking through the door. As soon as Buffy closed the door Spike gently pushed her back against the door. He gave her a big smile before kissing her. It was the most passionate kiss that the couple had shared. Buffy moaned when Spike’s tongue entered her mouth, encouraging him. She wound her hands through his soft curls. Spike pulled back allowing them to catch their breath. “I’m excited about our trip.” he said, causing her to laugh.

“I can tell.” she said pushing him backward so she could get past him. She walked into the kitchen and fixed them something to drink. “Here ya are.” she said handing him a coke. She sat down on the couch next to him. “So, I’m almost packed I just wanted to know if I should bring anything special.” she said.

“Well, I called my dad and told him we were going up there. He wants us to have dinner with him. So I would have to say bring a nice dress. And, of course, some party clothes.” he said, grinning at her.

“You’re father wants to meet me?” Buffy asked shyly.

“Yeah. You don’t need to be nervous. He’s a good guy. And he’ll love you.” he said.

“I’m still nervous. I’ll go pack the rest of my things.” she said, standing and going into her room. Buffy went to her closet and looked for an appropriate dress. She chose a light green halter dress with a matching jacket. She put it in her suitcase and zipped it up. She was about to pick it up when Spike knocked on the open door.

“Need any help with that, pet?” he asked.

“Sure.” she said stepping aside and letting him pick up her bag. He carried her bag to the car and put in the trunk along with his duffel bag.

“You want to go inside and say goodbye to everyone?” he asked. She nodded and started to walk toward the entrance. He ran up and followed her inside. Inside Tara, Willow and Xander were all sitting at a table.

“Hey, guys. We’re about to leave. We just wanted to say bye before we left.” Buffy said. She gave them all hugs.

“I hope you and Spike have a good time.” Willow said suggestively into Buffy’s ear. Buffy pulled away from Willow, her face beet red. Spike noticed, and gave Willow a curious look. He took his turn giving everyone a hug. “Show her a good time.” Willow said. Spike pulled back with a wide-eyed look on his face. He simply nodded then grinned finding the humor that their friend was trying to get their relationship moving.

“See you on Wednesday.” Buffy said walking out the door. She turned to Spike. “I guess we’re ready to go.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh my God. This place is beautiful. I always wanted to stay here.” Buffy said. Spike had gotten them a room at the Four Seasons. Spike was behind her with their bags. Buffy walked across the room to the french doors that led out to the balcony. When Buffy turned around, the sight that greeted Spike’s eyes made him speechless. The sunlight shone through the glass, silhouetting her body and lighting her golden locks.

Buffy turned back around to look at the view. There room over looked the gardens of the hotel. Spike put the bags on the king-sized bed and walked toward her. He stopped right behind her and put his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him and sighed contentedly. They stood there in complete, comfortable silence.

“When do meet your father for dinner?” Buffy asked quietly.

“I told him we would meet him at his house at 5. I figured we could get to know each other there, so dinner would be comfortable.” he said removing his arms from her waist. He walked over to the chair sitting next to the bed. “So, what do you want to do ‘til then?” he asked.

“Shopping!” she said with a smile, while Spike groaned. “What? I want to get something new while I’m here. Come on, Spike.” she said grabbing his hand and her purse and pulling her out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Spike it wasn’t that bad.” Buffy said strolling through the door with bags.

“Luv, I could swear that you tried on every pair of shoes in every store we went into. You can spot a pair of shoes you want from 50 feet away.” he said.

“Whatever. I need to get ready. Take a shower and all that jazz. You want to take a shower first or me?” she asked.

“We could take one together.” he said huskily. She looked down at the ground and started to blush. He noticed her embarrassment and quickly answered her question. “You go first, luv.” he said. She simply nodded and went into the bathroom. The door suddenly opened and she came running back out getting bags that had items she would need and went back into bathroom without saying a word.

Fifteen minutes later he heard the shower turn off. Buffy exited a few minutes later in a robe. “You’re turn. I should be ready to go when you get done.” she said with a smile. He gave a relieved glad that she had gotten over her embarrassment of his earlier statement.

“Thanks, pet.” he said grabbing his clothes and walking into the bathroom.

Buffy went over to her suitcase and pulled out the dress that she had packed. This was one of her favorite dresses. She then went over to a bag and pulled out one of the bra and panty sets that she had bought earlier that day. Then were the same light green as her dress. Finally she had all of her clothes laid out, she did her hair and makeup, keeping them both very simple. Buffy then slipped into the lace undergarments and dress.

“You look gorgeous, luv.” Spike said from the bathroom door. She turned and saw Spike standing there dressed to empress. He wore a pair of black dress pant and a blue shirt dark enough to bring out his eyes.

“You too.” she said stunned. She decided to make a bold move and walked over to him and pulled his head down to hers. Spike was shocked by her boldness, but it only made him want her more, but he pulled back first knowing that they would have to leave soon.

“Pet, get your shoes on and we’ll go.” he said. ‘Even though I’d rather stay here.’ he thought.

After Buffy put her new white heels on, she grabbed her purse and went to stand in front of Spike.

“I’m ready to make an impression. Let’s meet the parent.” she said with a smile.


A/N: Please Review. I love reviews, good or bad. Tell me what you think.

A/N: Please review. Let me know how I'm doing.


The drive to Spike’s father’s house only took a few minutes, but to Buffy it seemed like time slowed down, making her get more nervous. Buffy sat on the other side of the car staring out the window. Her leg was shaking from nerves. She started playing with her hem of her dress.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. He’s a pretty laid back guy when he isn’t working. He’s a good guy.” Spike reassured her.

“Why did your mom and him split?” she asked, wanting to get some info about the man that she was about to meet.

“They met at Oxford. My mom, as you know, was American and he was a local boy. My mom was always honest about their relationship. They became best friends and then started dating. They got really serious and ended up getting engaged. They were young and had mistaken friendship for love. My mom got pregnant. Da had already gotten into a law school here in America, so my mom told him about me, but that she didn’t want to hold him back. My da told me once that it was the hardest thing he had ever done. But they knew that if they got married all their dreams would go down the drain. I don’t blame them for any of the decisions they made.” he said. “Okay were here.”

Buffy had been so wrapped up in Spike’s story that she hadn’t realized that they had stopped in front of a huge house.

“This is your dad’s house?” she asked in a shy voice.

“Yeah. I know it’s real intimidating, but you’ll be okay.” he said gently, rubbing her leg to give her comfort. She gave him a smile and nodded. “Great.” He hurriedly got out of the car and walked around to open the car door for Buffy.

She took the hand he offered her and got out of the car. “Ah, you’re the perfect gentleman.”

“And you’re a beautiful lady.” he said giving her a kiss on her hand. “Ready?” he asked. She nodded and intertwined their fingers as he lead her to the door.

Spike rang the door bell and took a deep breath. They heard the door being unlocked and squeezed each others hand . A woman answered the door wearing a pink dress suit.

“Hello, William.” she said opening the door wide allowing the couple to enter.

“Hey, Viv. You know I go by Spike now.” he said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“I know. I just like to get on your nerves.” she said with a smile and closing the door behind them. She led them into the living room, motioning for them to sit on the black leather couch. “You must be Buffy.” she said shaking Buffy’s hand. “I’m Vivian. Spike’s stepmother.” she said sitting on another couch opposite them.

“How’ve you been, Viv?” Spike asked.

“Good. The gallery is doing really good. I’m meeting with some artist from New York next week.” she said.

“You own an art gallery?” Buffy said glad she found something she could talk about.

“Yeah. I love art. I’m thinking about opening another gallery, but I need to find a partner to help me take care of it.” she said.

“My mom owns a gallery in Sunnydale. I’ve been around art for as long as I can remember. Maybe I can give you her number. I’m sure she would be happy to open another gallery.” she said pulling a card out of her purse and handing it Vivian.

“Spike, I like this girl. She definitely has my stamp of approval.” she said causing Buffy to blush. “I would really like to spend some time getting to know you more, maybe we can meet tomorrow?” she asked.

“Well, I don’t know.” she said looking at Spike, not knowing what he had planned for the next day.

“It’s okay, pet. I think that would give me some time to talk with my da. Go ahead.” he said.

“Great. Why don’t you meet me at the gallery.” Vivian said. Buffy gave her big smile and nodded. “Then... do you like to shop?” Vivian asked.

“Boy, does she ever.” Spike answered, earning a slap on the arm from Buffy.

“We can go shopping on Rodeo. How does that sound?” Vivian asked.

“That sound great. I lived here for a really long time but never got the chance to shop there.” she said.

“It’s great there. Even Ethan likes to shop there every once in a while.” Vivian said.

“Speaking of da, where is he?” Spike asked.

“Oh, he should be down pretty soon. He wanted to take a shower before dinner.” Vivian answered.

As if on cue, Ethan entered the living room and walked over to Spike, giving him a big hug. “Spike. It’s great you could come.” he said then turned to Buffy. “And you must be Buffy.” he said taking her hands and pulling her to stand up. He held both of her hands as he looked her over, then kissed her hands. “I must say, you are a very beautiful woman.” he said allowing her to sit back down and walking over to his wife.

Buffy was quickly taking to Spike’s family and knew that she would be able to joke with them. “Well, now I know where Spike got all his charm from.” she said.

“Yeah. The Hart men know how to charm women. Luckily they know how to stay true to them as well.” Vivian said leaning over and giving Ethan a kiss on his cheek.

“How have you been Spike?” Ethan asked.

“Well, I work at a bar that Buffy owns. I like the people and I like the work, so everything is going great.” he said.

“You own a bar down in Sunnydale? You must be a tough girl. Always liked that in a woman.” he said looking adoringly at his wife. “Well know that we’re all here, I guess we should go.” he said helping Vivian up and getting her jacket for her. Spike and Buffy followed the older couple outside. “Are we all going in one car?” Ethan asked.

“Sure. That would be good.” Spike said. Ethan opened the passenger side door for Vivian, while Spike opened the back door for Buffy. Spike and Ethan walked around the car and got into the car. “So where are we going da?” Spike asked.

“My favorite place. The Water Grill.” he said.

“Cool.” Buffy said as she leaned against Spike.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour and a half later, the couples were back in the car and headed back to the house. “That was the best meal I’ve ever had.” Buffy said.

“I love that restaurant. It’s so unique.” Vivian said. “Um.. I was thinking earlier about having dessert at the house after dinner, so I bought some sweet stuff at the store. We can continue talking.”

“That’s a great idea, honey.” Ethan said.

The car pulled up infront of the house. The men helped their women out of the car and led them into the house.

“Buffy do you want to help me in the kitchen?” Vivian asked. Buffy nodded and followed Vivian into the kitchen, leaving Ethan and Spike alone.

“Have you said anything to her about Angel?” Ethan said.

“No, I wanted you to be with me to back me up, but I didn’t want to do it at dinner, ya know. I don’t know how she’ll react, but I don’t want her to get upset and leave.” he said moving to sit on one of the couches in the living room.

Ethan sat across from him and studied the young man. “You love her don’t you.” Ethan said. Spike looked shocked for a moment before he nodded. “Then don’t let her go. We’ll tell her and explain everything.” Ethan said offering his son support.

“Thanks, da.” Spike said, giving his dad a nervous smile.

They sat in silence until Buffy and Vivian came in with a tray of sweets. Each took there spot on the couches. Everyone started to take the treats off of the tray that now sat on the coffee table.

“Um.. Buffy, luv. There are some things that I wanted to talk to you about.” Spike said nervously. Buffy gave him a confused look. Spike looked over at his father, who gave him a slight nod. “Well, you remember what you told me about the other night?” he asked receiving a nod from Buffy. Spike drew in a deep breath and continued. “Well it upset me a lot. I called up my da, here, and talked to him about it.” He stopped to take in her reaction.

Ethan took over for Spike. “It concerned him that he had shown up at the bar. Turns out, Angel works for me. He’s been doing some illegal things around the office that he thinks I don’t know about. When Spike told me about what had happened to you, it bothered me. I decided to take action, but I didn’t want you to have to get involved with it. I filed charges against him the next day. Please don’t be angry with Spike. He was just worried about you and needed someone to talk to.”

Buffy sat their for a few seconds trying to hold back tears. She stood up and Spike looked down at the ground in defeat. Then Buffy surprised everyone in the room when she walked over to the other couch bent down and gave Ethan a hug.

“Thank you. For everything that you have done and will do.” she said through her tears. She walked back over to the couch that Spike was sitting on and sat back down. “I can’t believe that after all this time, this whole thing with Angel was solved with one phone call.” she said half talking to herself. She looked over at Spike. “I can’t believe that you cared that much.” she said.

“Pet, I care for you more than anything in the world.” he said pulling her into his arms. He gave her a quick kiss. “I say we call it a night.” he said getting up off the couch. Everyone else got up too, and walked to the front door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, da.” Spike said giving his father a hug.

“And I’ll meet you tomorrow at the gallery, around noon.” Buffy said, giving the older couple a hug.

Spike let Buffy and himself outside after saying their goodbyes. He helped Buffy into the car and went around to the drivers side and got in. When he was about to start the car, Buffy grabbed his hand. Spike looked at Buffy. Before either one of them knew what was happening they were caught up in a passionate kiss. They pulled away to catch their breath and rested their heads together. Spike couldn’t stop himself.

“Buffy, I love you.”

Buffy went in for another kiss and smiled against his lips. “I love you, too.”

A/N: I'm trying to get the chapters out as fast as possible. Tell me what you think. I need to know what you like and don't like.

A/N: Please review the story. I thrive off of them. Please give suggestions if you have any. I also have another story that I just started working on, THE FUNDRAISER. Please read it and review it as well

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The trip to the hotel was silent. Buffy and Spike kept thinking about what had just happened.

‘I told her I loved her. I actually said the words. And she said it back. She trusted me enough to tell me she loved me back. What happens now? We said it but we barely know each other. We’ve been on one date really. Are we moving too fast?’ Spike thought. He turned and looked at her. She was staring out the window looking deep in thought as well. He turned his eyes back to the road.

‘I said that I loved him. It just came out. I didn’t even think about it.’ Buffy thought. She turned to look at him. ‘I don’t even know him that well. I should’ve waited. I know that I have feelings for him, but this is moving way too fast. I’ll talk to him when we get back to the hotel room.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike opened the door to the hotel room and allowed Buffy to enter before him. Spike threw off his coat and took off his shoes, while Buffy did the same thing. They stood on opposite sides of the room looking down at the floor.

“So..” Buffy started.

“I think we need to talk.” Spike said knowing that somebody was going to have to get the ball rolling.

“I think that’s the best idea right now.” Buffy said sitting the big chair next to the bed. Spike walked over to her and sat on the bed so he was close to her, but still far enough away. “Spike, about what happened in the car, I...” she started but found the words were not wanting to come out.

Spike tried to make this easier on her. “What I said in the car, I meant it. I really do love you. I just think that we should get to know each other more, before we take things any further.”

“I was thinking the same thing. We’ve only had one date and I’ve already met your parents and step-parents. We definitely need to slow things down.” Buffy said looking into his blue eyes. “Thank God we got that cleared up. Now one more thing. Who get the bathroom first?” she said with a smile.

“Ladies first, of course, pet.” he said standing up. She got up and started to go to the bathroom but he stopped her. “Just because I said we need to take this slower doesn’t mean that I don’t still want to keep some things.” he said turning her around. He bent his head and gently pressed his lips against hers.

Buffy pulled back and smiled. “I think I’ll have to agree with you there.” she said leaning up and giving him a quick peck before getting her things and running into the bathroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Spike and Buffy got changed and were ready to go to bed, they stood on one side of the room staring at the bed. There newfound feelings for each other had changed the way they felt about the sleeping arangement.

“I didn’t even think about it when I booked the room, pet.” Spike said shyly.

“It’s okay. I mean it’s not the first time we’ve slept together.” Her eyes widened at the way the statement came out. “I mean fallen asleep together.”

“Right. So you’ll be okay? I’ll sleep on the chair if me and you in the same bed makes you nervous.” he said.

“No, it’s okay, really. Let’s just get some shut eye, ‘kay.” she said walking over to the side of the bed and drawing back the covers. Spike mimicked her motions. Both slid into the bed and lay perfectly still.

Buffy decided to loosen up and rolled over to face Spike. Spike instinctually wrapped his arm around her. “You said that you used to be a geek in high school and read a lot of poetry right?” she said.

“Yeah. Little mama’s boy, I was. Why?” he asked.

“Who was your favorite poet?” she asked.

“I don’t think I had just one. I loved Shakespeare, of course. Think that might have a little do with my father.” he said. She looked at him curiously. “He’s a big fan. Named me after him and I had a half sister named Cordelia. He named her after a character in King Lear.” he said.

“Wait! You have a sister? How come you haven’t mentioned her before?” she asked.

“No, I had a sister. She died 3 years ago when she was 14 of leukemia. I miss her. She was really sweet for a kid sister.”

“Wow. I’m so sorry.” Buffy said.

“So you still want to know my favorite poet?” he asked trying to change the subject. She nodded against his chest. “Robert Browning. Would you like to hear some?” Again she nodded against his chest.

“The gray sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i' the slushy sand.

Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, through its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!”

When he finished reciting the poem he had memorized so long ago, he focused on Buffy. “That’s beautiful. You have the perfect voice for reciting poetry.” she whispered against his chest.

“You sound tired. Get some rest.” he said. He kissed her on the top of her head and started to remove his arm.

“No, stay. I’m comfortable.” she said. He nodded and made no other attempts to move. They fell into a deep sleep, knowing they would never feel this comfortable with another person.

A/N: Review please. I read every review I get and take all of them into consideration. Tell me if you like it or not.

Buffy woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. ‘I don’t think I’ve slept that good since...well, ever.’ Buffy thought staring out through the french doors, to the beautiful view. Buffy looked down at the hand that wound around her waist and rested on her stomach, and rested her hand on top. She moved her fingers across the top of Spike’s hand, tracing the invisible patterns along the soft skin. ‘He has such great hands. No wonder he can work wonders with a bottle. Bet they could work wonders on me.... woah, slow down Buffy. Moving slow remember.’ she thought.

“That really tickles, pet.” Spike said into her ear.

“Sorry. I was just admiring your hands.” she said with a giggle.

“Really. What do you like about my hands?” he asked huskily, sliding his hand underneath her tank to rub the soft skin he found there.

“They’re soft and, um...” she trailed off as his hand started to descend.

“And?” he said smiling against her ear.

“Spike, I thought we were going to take things slower.” she whimpered.

Spike immediately stopped his hand, and slowly brought it back to her bare stomach. “You’re right, luv.” he said rolling her so he could look into her eyes. “I’m sorry. It just felt so good, waking up with you.” he said leaning down and giving her a slow kiss. His tongue gently glided along her bottom lip. She granted him access without hesitation, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Spike pulled back and brought his hand up to her cheek. “You are breathtaking, luv.” Buffy face turned red at the compliment. Spike smiled and continued. “Want to get up and get a quick breakfast, pet?”

“That sounds great. Oh! I have to meet your stepmom for lunch remember.” she said rolling out from underneath Spike.

“That’s okay. We can get something small. I really need some coffee right now.” he said sitting up against the headboard.

“I have to agree with ya there.” She grabbed some clothes and ran into the bathroom. When she finally came out from the bathroom, Spike was sitting on the bed. “So, are we still going out tonight?” she asked.

“Of course, pet. You need to let loose. Where do you want to go?” Spike asked grabbing some clothes.

Buffy thought about it for a minute. “Why don’t you surprise me?”

“You sure?” he asked. Buffy nodded enthusiastically. “All right, pet. It’ll be a surprise.” he said as he walked into bathroom.

A few minutes later he came out of the bathroom. “Ready to go, pet?” he asked.

“Yeah.” she said getting out of the chair. “Are you still going to see your dad today?”

“As soon as I drop you off at Viv’s gallery.” he said allowing her to walk out the door before him and closing the door behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Buffy, I’m so glad you’re here. What do you think of my gallery?” Vivian said holding her arms out to give Buffy a hug.

“Hi, Viv. Can I call you that?” Buffy asked. Vivian nodded. “Your gallery is beautiful. You have some great work here. It reminds me a lot of my moms gallery. Do you get any big artist or is it just locals?” Buffy asked looking a great painting of the beach at sunset.

“I do a little bit of both. But enough about art, right now. Let’s go get some lunch. Then we can gossip.” Vivian said grabbing her purse and keys. They headed out the door and Vivian locked the gallery door behind her. “There’s a little eatery we can go to down the road. Then we can go shopping. How does that sound?” Buffy nodded and followed Vivian.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, how long have you and Spike been together?” Viv asked after they had ordered.

“Well, actually. Last night was only the second time we’ve been out on a date. It feels weird that I’ve already met all of his family.” she said.

“It may be strange to you, honey, but I married Ethan a few weeks after we met. We fell in love quickly and it hasn’t changed since. I see the same thing in you and Spike.” Vivian said taking Buffy’s hand in hers. “You can’t stop what’s meant to be.”

“Spike and I decided to take things slower.” Buffy said softly.

“It’s understandable, but do you really want to?” Vivian said trying to get Buffy to open up.

“Spike makes me feel beautiful. I trust him like I’ve never trusted anyone else. And I told him I love him already.” she said to herself not really thinking about Vivian at that moment. Buffy felt Vivian squeeze her hand. “I know he’s the one I’m meant to be with. I...” Buffy trailed off not knowing if she should be talking to Vivian about this.

Vivian gave her a small nod and a smile. “I understand completely. I went through the same thing, only I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it. You, on the other hand, have me.” Vivian said. Buffy through her arms around Vivian and gave her a huge hug.

“Thank you so much. Now I know why Spike is so sweet. He got it from all of his parents loving him so much. You remind me of my mom.” Buffy said.

“Well, hopefully someday you’ll be part of my family.” Vivian said.

‘I‘d love that.’ Buffy thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, da. Whatcha up to?” Spike said walking into Ethan’s office.

“Handling some of the issues with Angel. I had lunch delivered up here. I thought that would be best.” Ethan said.

“That’s probably the best. So... what do you think about Buffy?” Spike said suddenly.

“She’s a great girl. You two looked so happy together. How do you feel about her?” Ethan said standing up and walking around to a couch and coffee table on the other end of the office.

“I love her. But I don’t think she feels the same. She said she did last night, but now I’m thinking it was a heat of the moment deal.” Spike said flopping down on the couch next to his father.

“You truly love her right?” Ethan asked Spike. Spike nodded his head slowly. “Then give her time. You told me about her relationship with Angel. I’m sure she is still insecure from that ordeal. Let her make the next move. Vivian and I went through the same thing, and look at us now. Believe me. From what I saw last night, Buffy was telling the truth.”

“Thanks da. You know exactly what say.” Spike said.

“I know. Aren’t I the best?” Ethan said with a smile.

Spike laughed at his father. “So what exactly was Angel up to?” Spike asked.

“Well, he was taking bribes from some clients to overlook certain facts. We also got him to admit to cheating on the BAR exam.” Ethan said.

“That guy’s pretty stupid isn’t he.” Spike said shaking his head.

“I thought he was smart. That’s why I hired him. Apparently I was wrong.” Ethan said.

“Don’t worry. He fooled Buffy and everyone else it seems. He’ll get what’s coming to ‘im.” Spike said opening one of the cartons that was sitting on the table.

“Spike, do you think that you’ll marry Buffy?” Ethan said out of nowhere. Spike looked at his father for a minute. “God knows I want to. But like you said, I’ll have to give her time.” Spike said taking a bite out of his food.

“Well, she’s having lunch with Vivian, today. I bet you that Vivian will get Buffy to open up about everything.” Ethan said remembering the conversation between himself and Vivian about trying to get the kids together soon.

Spike nodded. ‘I’d love that’ he thought.


A/N: Please review. They make me happy, even if they're bad.

A/N: Please review. I love reviews. Tell what you think.


Buffy and Vivian had walked down Rodeo Drive looking in windows and occasionally going into stores.

When they reached a popular lingerie store Buffy wanted to go in. Vivian saw the look in Buffy’s eyes and decided to walk go in.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Buffy asked not moving from the sidewalk.

“I think we should go in. Don’t tell me you don’t want to, I can tell by the look on your face.” Vivian said with a smile as she walked in. Buffy followed her in and stopped by Vivian’s side.

“This is kinda embarrassing. It feels weird to be shopping for lingerie with my boyfriend’s stepmom.” she said blushing slightly.

“Buffy, I may be Spike’s stepmom, but I’m not blind. I can see the fire between you two. It’s only a matter of time, honey.” Vivian said turning towards a rack with sexy nightwear. “Think of me as your friend and not your boyfriend’s stepmom. You can act the same way you would with anyone else. Now let’s look for something that will leave Spike speechless.” Vivian said swiftly moving through the store.

‘She reminds me of Anya, in someways. She makes me feel so comfortable about everything that happens between Spike and me.’ Buffy thought as she followed Vivian through the store. Vivian picked up several items and handed them to Buffy, most either in Black or Red.

“Go try those on. I’ll wait out here, maybe even find some things for me.” Vivian laughed pushing Buffy into the dressing room. Buffy tried on all the garments that Vivian had picked out. She had to give Vivian some credit. She knew what would look good on Buffy. Buffy picked out two of the nightgowns that she had tried on and walked out of the dressing room. Buffy walked over to where Vivian was standing. “You picked out some nighties, now you have to pick out some panties and bras. If you want him to see you as sexy, you must feel sexy first.” Vivian said picking out some things for herself. Buffy followed suit, picking out two sets.

Both women walked to the register to pay. Vivian grabbed the clothes out of Buffy’s arms and threw it on the counter. “We’ll take all this.” Vivian said to the saleslady.

“Viv, I can’t let you pay for my things.” Buffy said trying to grab her clothes off the counter.

“Nonsense, consider it a congratulations gift.” Vivian said whipping out a credit card.

“For what?” Buffy asked.

“For moving on with your life. For getting over your past with Angel and giving Spike a chance.” Vivian said signing her name to the credit card receipt.

“That’s a load of shit.” Buffy blurted out. She covered her mouth when she realized what she had said.

“Don’t worry about it. I was just trying to distract you but I wasn’t lying. You’re a strong woman, Buffy. Don’t ever forget that.” Vivian said handing Buffy the bag and leading her out of the store.

///////////////////////

Buffy and Spike had agreed earlier to meet back at the hotel since neither one knew when they would be through with lunch. Buffy walked through the door of the hotel room expecting to find Spike there already. There was no sign of Spike in the room. She looked at the digital clock on the table, 5 o’clock. Buffy set her bags down on the bed and grabbed one of the bra and panty sets that Vivian had bought her. She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out the clothes she had packed to go to the club in. She dug a little more and pulled out her red nail polish. Buffy opened the french doors that opened onto the balcony and sat outside, while painting her nails. After about thirty minutes Buffy heard the door open and close. She got up and stood in the doorway.

“Hey, Spike. How was your lunch with your father?” she asked taking a step into the room.

“Good. I had a run in with Angel earlier.” he said stepping into the light. Spike’s left eye was beginning to blacken and his lip had been split. Buffy ran to Spike to examine his injuries closer.

“What happened?” she asked as she ran her hand over his face.

“Like I said, I had run in with Angel, pet. He came to the office looking for trouble. We fought and security came up and took him to jail. He’ll be held for assault in addition to bribery and fraud.” Spike said taking Buffy’s hand in his.

“Do you still want to go out? We could just stay in.” she said.

“You think a little bruising is going to stop us? I don’t think so, luv. We’re definitely going out. Let me clean up and get changed then we can go.” he said kissing her forehead.

“Don’t rush. I still need to get ready. I’ll do that, while you clean your battle wounds in the bathroom.” she said pushing him into the bathroom.

“Okay, no need to push.” he said closing the door.

Buffy hurried and got dressed in a pair of black leather pants and crimson tank, that matched her fingernails. She pulled the chopsticks out of her bun, allowing her hair to fall in soft waves around her face. She finally applied the finishing touches: red lipstick, that brought out her soft lips and a pair of black pumps. Buffy went over to Spike’s bag and pulled out a change of clothes for him.

Buffy knocked on the door. “I have some clothes for you.” she said loud enough for him to hear.
Spike opened the door slightly and Buffy stuck the clothes through the door.

Spike came out a few minutes later and looked around the room for Buffy. He was about to call for her when he noticed that the balcony doors were open. He walked over to the door and stared at the woman standing in front of him. Gone was the innocent looking girl and in her place was a sexy, confident woman.

“You look gorgeous, pet.” he whispered. Buffy turned to see a look of lust in his eyes. She instantly tore her eyes away from the intense look, trying not to blush. “You ready, luv.” he said staying where he was, afraid that if he got too close he wouldn’t be able to control himself.

Buffy looked at him with a huge smile. “Yeah, where are we going?” she asked walking past him and into the room to grab her purse.

Spike walked up behind her, unable to control himself anymore, and whispered into her ear.

“It’s a surprise, pet.”


A/N: Please Review. Pretty Please.

A/N: I'm posting two chapters tonight. Please review both.

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Spike held Buffy’s hand all the way to the car. And, like before, showed himself to be a true gentleman by opening her car door for her. Spike got in the driver side and started the car. He immediately turned down the blaring radio.

“I thought that we could get some dinner, first, pet. I made reservations earlier for The Little Door, supposed to be real great.” he said glancing over at her noticing the big smile on her face. “What?”

“I always wanted Angel to take me there. He always had an excuse not to go.” she turned to look at him. “Thank you.” she said.

“For what, luv?”

“For everything. You treat me like every woman wants to be treated. You make me feel special and loved...” she said.

“You deserve all that, Buffy.” he interrupted. “Angel was a bloody fool not to see that he had such a spectacular woman. I make you feel special and loved because you are special and loved. You are one of the strongest women I know, Buffy, don’t ever doubt yourself.” he said pulling her across the bench seat so she was sitting closer to him.

“One of the strongest women?” she asked.

“My mum being one. She had a child and still went to school to become a nurse. That took a lot of strength. The other, of course, is Viv. She went into a deep depression when Cordelia died, but she picked herself back up and continued with her life. Not to mention they both have to deal with my da.” he finished with a laugh.

‘He thinks so much of me. How can I not love him. Viv was right, I can’t stop what’s meant to be.’ she thought. Buffy didn’t know what to say. She simply reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy and Spike had talked about their day at dinner, taking their time to eat and talk.

“Are we going to get dessert?” Buffy asked.

“I was thinking we could get dessert after we go out.” Spike said pulling out his wallet to pay.

“Wow, you really did plan on surprising me. So... where are we going now?” she asked hoping he would tell her. He smiled as he got up, walked around the table and held his hand out. “You’re not going to tell me are you.” she said in defeat as she took his hand and followed him out of the restaurant.

He looked over his shoulder. “Nope.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They drove for a little ways, Buffy fidgeting the entire way.

“Are we almost there?” she asked.

“We are there, pet.” he said nodding at the building in front of the car. Buffy couldn’t speak. She continued to stare at the building as he drove around to park the car. Spike shut off the car and opened her door for her before she had realized it.

“Spike, how..?” she tried to ask.

“Well, you told me to surprise you, so I called Anya and your mum to get some ideas. Your mum told me that you always liked to dance. I figured since you own a regular night club, I’d take you somewhere different.” he explained as they walked toward the entrance.

“My mom didn’t happen to mention that I used to take salsa lessons did she?” Buffy asked.

“No, she just told me that you like all kinds of music and dancing.” he said paying the man at the front door.

As soon as they walked in, the couple was greeted by colors and sounds that intensified their excitement. Loud Cuban music was being played on the stage by a live band. Worn out dancers stood at the bar ordering drinks and trying to talk over the music. Buffy and Spike moved over to one of the booths that sat next to the dance floor. Spike left Buffy and went to the bar to get some drinks. Buffy couldn’t help but smile as she watched couples on the dance floor turn and move with ease. Spike came back a few minutes later with two Margaritas.

“Spike, I can’t believe it. You definitely deserve the award for best surprises. So, do you know how to dance?” she asked.

“I do, pet. Viv wanted to learn and da didn’t have time to learn, so on one of my trips here, I went with her. I wasn’t an easy sell at first, but once I learned it, I’ve loved it ever since.” Spike said.

“And the surprises just keep coming.” she said with a smile. As soon as Spike saw Buffy finish her drink, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the booth, maneuvering them onto the dance floor.

“Let’s dance, pet. Show ‘em what we got.” he said pulling her close and started to sway. Buffy smiled at him slyly before pushing him away from her. Buffy began to feel the rhythm of the upbeat song go through her body as she remembered Viv’s word earlier: ‘If you want him to see you as sexy, you must feel sexy first’. Spike watched in awe as she closed her eyes and began move to the music. All the sudden, she opened her eyes and grabbed his hand. Spike moved without any hesitation. The blonds spun around the floor totally absorbed in each other that neither noticed everyone had cleared the floor so they could watch the two dance. As soon as the song ended, the crowd cheered loudly bringing Buffy and Spike back to reality. They laughed as they each took a bow. Spike pulled Buffy close once again as couples began to fill the floor, dancing to a slow, sensual song. Buffy rested her head against Spike’s shoulder as swayed. She knew instinctively what he was going to next. He grabbed her around the waist and spun her out. She gave him a sexy smile before spinning back in. He allowed her to go into a low dip, bringing her up slowly. They started to sway again as they looked into each other’s eyes. Spike leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Like the music, the kiss started out slow and soft, but grew more passionate by the second, until they finally pulled back. Buffy made her way back over to their booth as Spike went and got them some water.

‘Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this before. He’s so great.’ she thought as he sat a water bottle down in front of her.

“You were great out there, luv. You should have a Salsa night at the Grind and show off your talent.” he said taking a swig of his water. Buffy, on the other hand, had already downed her entire bottle of water. “Want another?” he asked.

“Nah, I’m good. You were pretty good yourself. I can’t actually believe the crowd watched us and cheered when we’re done. Felt kinda cool.” she said happily.

“Yeah.” he said finishing his water. They sat there listening to the music and watching the couple for a few more minutes before Spike decided to speak. “You wanna get outta here, pet? Maybe get that dessert we talked about earlier?” he asked.

“Sounds good.” she said taking the hand that he was offering her and following him out of the club.

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A/N: Please Review. Pretty Please.

A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter. I really need feedback. Thanks.

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“I thought you said we were going to get dessert?” Buffy said as Spike parked the car at the hotel.

“We are.” he said cryptically. He got out of the car and helped Buffy out. Buffy didn’t ask anymore questions, letting the night of surprises continue. Spike led Buffy back up to their room. “Wait here for a minute.” he said entering the room and closing the door behind him. A minute later he opened the door and let Buffy in.

Buffy entered the dimly lit room and heard soft jazz coming out of the small stereo next to the tv. In the center of the room, on the floor, was a pile of pillows.

“Make yourself comfortable, pet.” Spike said nodding toward the pillows. Buffy walked over to the pile and sat down on the floor, leaning on the soft feather pillows. Spike walked into the bathroom and came back out with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Buffy smiled as Spike handed them to her. Spike went back into the bathroom again, this time coming out with a tray with two covered plates. He set the tray down on the floor and sat down next to Buffy.

Buffy went to remove the covers off the plates but Spike stopped her. “Not yet, pet. First things first.” he said taking the glasses and bottle from her. He opened the bottle and poured them each a glass. “I want to propose a toast.” he said handing her one of the glasses. “To us. I know that we agreed to take things slower but I think that tonight showed us how much we belong together. I love you, Buffy Summers.” he said leaning over and giving her a quick kiss before clinking their glasses together. Both took a sip as they kept eye contact. Buffy smiled at him as she brought the glass away from her lips.

“I think I’ll propose a toast, too. To you. The last couple of years have been really hard for me and I wasn’t happy. I spend one night with you and I’m happier than I’ve ever been and the I forget the last few years. Thank you, Spike.” she said. They each took another sip.

“Okay, now on to dessert.” Spike said removing the cover to one of the plates. “I know how much you like chocolate, so I thought you might like these.” he said holding out a chocolate-covered strawberry. Buffy leaned forward letting him feed her the fruit. Buffy closed her eyes and savored the delicacy. Buffy opened her eyes to see Spike eating one of the strawberries.

“How did you pull all this off?” Buffy asked.

“Well, when you went to the ladies’ room at the restaurant, I called the hotel and asked them if it was possible to get this stuff delivered to the room.” Spike said feeding her another strawberry. “Do you like it?” he asked.

“The best dessert I’ve ever had and I don’t even know what’s under cover number two.” she said.

“Speaking of cover number two...” he said picking up the cover off the second plate. “Amaretto Chocolate cake. I thought you’d like the combination of the two.” he said. Spike picked up a small piece of the cake and fed it to Buffy.

“Wow. That’s great.” she said repeating his move, feeding him a piece of the cake. Spike ate the piece of cake with his eyes closed.

Buffy couldn’t stop herself. Buffy knew she was about to take a chance. She dipped her finger into the icing that topped the cake and slowly swiped it across his cheek. Buffy leaned forward slowly making sure his eyes were still closed and licked the chocolate trail off of his cheek.

Spike’s eyes snapped open at the feel of her tongue and fought to keep a moan from escaping his lips. “Buffy..?” he asked as she sat back a little.

“Shh..before you ask, I’m sure.” she whispered against his lips. Spike knew right then he couldn’t live without her. Both leaned in giving in to the kiss. Buffy took the initiative and gently moved her tongue against his lower lip. He opened his mouth allowing her to enter and him the ability to taste her. Spike slowly pushed her back to lay against the pillows, settling his weight atop her small body. He began to move down her neck as Buffy arched toward him.

Spike looked up, taking her in. “You are beautiful. Golden. Effulgent.” he said before continuing down her body. He grabbed the bottom of her tank and pulled it up her body, as she lifted up so he could remove the thin shirt. He sat back on his heels as he allowed his hands to roam her body before reaching their destination. Spike unbuttoned her pants and slid them down her legs, leaving her in the bra and panties she had purchased earlier. She had gone with red, knowing it was his favorite color. Buffy sat up and quickly removed his shirt. Her hands started to undo his pants but he stopped her first.

“Bed. I want this to be perfect.” he said standing up and lifting her into his arms, carrying her over to the bed. She laid still as he removed his pants. He climbed onto the bed and settled himself between her legs. “I want this to be about you.” he said kissing his way down her neck toward her breasts. He eased the straps down her arms and snuck a hand around her back to release the hooks. When he felt the fabric loosen, he pulled it off of her body. He leaned down giving all his attention to the small bud as he licked and sucked it lovingly. Spike swiftly moved giving the other equal attention. When Buffy started to moan and breath loudly, Spike moved further down her body. Buffy lifted her hips as he removed the last piece of clothing separating the two. He leaned forward, blowing a stream of air onto her most sensitive spot.

“Oh, God, Spike.” she moaned loudly. Buffy reached down and pulled him back up her body. “I want you. Please.” she whispered.

Spike reached over for the small package he had set on the bed. Buffy stopped him. “I want you with nothing between us. I’m covered and I trust you.” she whispered leaning up to give him a kiss. Spike kissed her deeply as he reached down, positioning himself at her entrance. Spike pulled back and looked into her eyes as he pushed into her. Buffy immediately arched up at the welcomed invasion.

“Luv, you’re so tight. Perfect.” he muttered as he began to thrust. Buffy couldn’t do anything but moan and whimper as she began to lose control as he gained speed. Spike felt he muscle begin to flutter around him. He reached a hand between them and found her special spot. “Come with me, Buffy.” he said as she fell over the edge with a loud moan. Spike thrust a few more times before following her off the edge. They continued to move together slowly as they came down from their highs. Spike eased out of her and rolled to the side, pulling her into his side.

“I love you.” he said squeezing her slightly.

“I love you, too.” she said.

“Really?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Viv told me today that I can’t stop something that was meant to be. I love you and I can’t help it.” she said looking up at him.

He kissed her and rested his head against hers. “Get some rest, luv. We have to get back to work tomorrow.”

“Spike?” she asked.

“Yeah, pet.”

“Don’t ever leave me.” she said.

“Never.”

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A/N: How did I do? This is only the second sex scene that I've done. Be honest. I will change it if I need to. Please review. Pretty Please.

A/N: I promise I will update sooner, from now on. Please review and tell me what you think.

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Spike woke up with his arms around a cold feather pillow, not the warm soft body that he had been expecting. The smell of warm coffee and fruit greeted him along with Buffy humming. He rolled over and looked at his watch. Spike grabbed the robe that Buffy had laid out for him at the end of the bed and put it on. Spike walked into the bathroom, brushed his teeth and grabbed a cup of coffee on his way out to the balcony. He watched Buffy, who had put her hair up in chopsticks, as she sat there sipping her coffee and eating a bowl of fruit pieces.

“Whatcha humming about, pet?” he asked sitting down at the table next to her.

“Huh? Oh, just thinking about the handsome man from last night. He was really sexy when he danced.” Buffy said smiling over her coffee mug.

“Glad he could make you so happy. You deserved it, luv. Did you have a good time last night?”
Spike asked.

“No, I hate it when I have to go out dancing then end up with a gorgeous man in my bed.” Buffy said sarcastically.

“I just like to know that I did good.” he said looking down shyly.

Buffy got up and walked over to him and sat down in his lap. “You did real good, baby.” she said giving him a gentle kiss on his lips. She pulled back. “You were incredible.” she said giving him another kiss that lasted a little longer. She pulled back once again. “Perfect” she whispered before attacking his mouth.

Spike reacted immediately, plunging his tongue into her hot mouth, tasting the coffee and fruit that she had been having for breakfast. Spike moved her so that she was straddling his legs. Buffy moved her hand underneath his robe and began to gently stroke him.

Spike broke away from the kiss gasping for air. “Oh God, Buffy.” he moaned.

“Take me inside, baby.” she whispered into his ear.

Spike stood up while Buffy wrapped her legs around his waist. Spike stopped and closed the balcony doors while Buffy kissed his neck and anywhere else she could. Spike walked over to the bed and set her on the edge, pushing her robe off her shoulders while she untied belt , effectively removing the robe from her body. Spike threw off his robe and sunk down to his knees. Buffy watched as he kissed and gently massaged her thighs. He rose up giving her another hungry kiss. Spike pushed Buffy down to lay on the bed while he kissed his way down her body. Spike began to kiss and massage her thighs once again, slowly parting them for him.

Buffy shot up when she realized what he was doing. “Spike, you don’t have to. I..I..” she didn’t know what to say to him. “Nobody’s ever done that before.” she whispered.

“Luv, relax. I want to do it. I want to watch you tremble in ecstasy while I worship your body.” Spike said huskily. Spike moved between her legs and kissed her stomach. “I want to hear you scream my name.” he whispered and pushed her down again. He kissed her inner thighs before parting her outer lips with the long cool fingers of one hand while he drug another finger along her slit. “You’re so wet, luv. All ready for me.” he said. His tongue traced along the same path that his finger had.

“Ohhh, God. Spike.” she moaned.

Spike smiled against her skin. He repeated the move this time letting his tongue give special attention to her special spot. Spike added to his movement by placing two fingers inside of her and curling his fingers upward, instantly finding her g-spot.

“Sspppiiikkkkeee!!!” she came with a scream that had her biting her lip to try and contain it.

“Luv, you tasted so good.” he said lapping at her. Spike stood and lifted her up, laying her fully on the bed. He settled between her legs, kissing her softly. “Did you like that, pet?” he asked as he eased into her body.

“Yesss.” she hissed with pleasure.

“Talk to me, luv. Tell me what you want?” he said trying to get her to open up.

Buffy opened her eyes and gave a sexy smile before pulling him down for a passionate kiss, as she raised her hips, allowing him to sink deeper into her. She tore her lips away from his. “Hard. Make me scream again.” she said. Spike lost all control as he pounded into her.
“Oh God, Spike...deep...so...ugh..deep. I...love...you...ugh...so...much.” she said her voice starting to be a problem.

“Come with me, Buffy. Scream for me.” he said pinching her special spot making her scream. Spike covered her mouth with his to swallow her scream, as he continued to thrust into her. As soon as her orgasm started to subside she felt another right behind it.

“SSSPPPIIIIKKKEEE!!!!” she yelled into his mouth. Spike followed her over the edge this time.

“Buffy, luv.” he moaned. Spike rolled off of her after a few minutes. Buffy snuggled up to his side.

“I’m glad I packed before you woke. I don’t think I have the strength now.” Buffy laughed.

“Pet, we have to shower and get out of here. We have to work tonight.” Spike said allowing Buffy to roll out of bed.

“I know. I can’t wait. I have to make sure every thing’s ready for tomorrow. So what are you going to be for Halloween?” Buffy said grabbing some underwear from one of her bags.

“Not telling, pet. It’ll be a surprise.” Spike said sitting up in the bed. “How ‘bout you?” he asked as she walked into the bathroom.

“No way, babe. You don’t tell, I don’t tell.” she said giving him a small smile before going into the bathroom.

Spike waited a few seconds after hearing the water turn on before following her into the bathroom.

“Spike!!!”

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“Buffy!!! Spike!!! How was your trip?” Willow asked as she ran toward them to give them both a hug. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Hey, Wills. Hey Tara. The trip was great. I had a lot of fun and had time to relax.” Buffy said giving Tara a hug too.

“How ‘bout you Spike? You have a good time?” Willow asked with a secretive smile.

“Yeah, I did. Got to see my da and step-mum. Went out, a little.” Spike said.

“Look we’re going upstairs to put our stuff down. Is Anya upstairs?” Buffy asked.

“Yeah. She just closed up the coffeeshop and went upstairs a few minutes ago.” Tara said.

“Great. Come on Spike. You can put your stuff in the apartment and come back down for work.” Buffy said walking away from Tara and Willow. “Can you finish setting up down here?” Buffy asked.

“Sure. No problem. Riley should be here soon and he can help.” Willow answered.

“Thanks Wills.” Buffy called from the stairs.

“Do you think something happened on their trip?” Willow asked Tara.

“Definitely. Did you see how close they were standing?” Tara said with a smile.

“Great. I just want to them to be happy.” Willow said.

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Buffy and Spike walked through the apartment and into Buffy’s room.

“Anya must be...” Buffy began.

“OH Yeah...XANDER!!!”

“In her bedroom having sex with Xander?” Spike finished her sentence.

“Really? How can you possibly know that?” she said smiling.

“I think we should get back downstairs. I don’t really want to hear them, do you pet?” Spike asked holding his hand out for her.

“I think I’ll agree with you there.” she said as they left the apartment.

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Willow and Tara looked at each other when they heard Spike and Buffy coming into the bar laughing and holding hands.

“What’s wrong?” Willow asked.

“Seems that Anya and Xander have gotten a lot closer while we were gone, Red.” Spike laughed.

“Oh that. Yeah Anya was hanging all over Xander yesterday.” Tara said. “At least we know that they’re not the only ones who have hooked up lately.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Spike asked knowing full well what they were talking about.

“I knew it as soon as you two walked in here. You are totally into each other.” Tara said smiling at the couple.

“Well, luv, I guess our secrets out.” Spike said squeezing Buffy’s hand.

“People are hooking up left and right around here.” Willow said moving some of the chairs.

“So, have you two thought about Halloween?” Buffy asked.

“Yeah, my ex said that he could perform here on Friday. So Dingoes is booked. As for costumes, I was thinking something that would get a lot of tips, so I’m going with the classic French Maid.” Willow answered.

“I was thinking the same thing, so I’m going to be the sexy nurse.” Tara said.

“Both great choices. I have a DJ booked for the night too for when the band isn’t paying. He said he can do some karaoke things too.” Buffy said. “I was also hoping that you could help me decorate before opening the bar tomorrow. Could you come in a little early tomorrow?”

Tara and Willow looked at each other before Willow answered. “Of course we will. So what are you two going to be?”

“I’m not telling anyone.” Buffy answered.

“I’ll tell ya later, Red. I don’t want Buffy to know.” he said.

“This is going to be great. I love Halloween so much. You get to be someone completely different.” Buffy said walking behind the bar.

“Me, too.” the other three answered in unison.

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A/N: I promise there will be more plot in the next chapter. Please review and tell me what you think.

“Willow!!! Do you think that Tara can run the coffeehouse today?” Buffy said frantically over the phone.

“Just a minute, I’ll ask her.” Willow said. Buffy heard the Witches talking in the background. Willow picked up the phone a few seconds later. “She said that she’d be happy to. What’s up?”

“Well, I woke up this morning really excited about Halloween and everything, then I realized something.” Buffy said.

“What?” Willow asked hanging on every word.

“I don’t know what to dress as. I asked Anya to go with me to go shopping. Can you go too?” Buffy asked.

“Of course. I was going to go anyway. I have some things I need to pick up. I’ll be right over.” Willow said.

“Thanks, Wills.” Buffy said, then hung up the phone. “Anya!! Willow said that she would come.” She looked at Anya as she sat down next to her on the couch. “So, you never told me what you and Xander are going to dress as tonight.”

“Well, I decided I am going to be a genie. Xander is going to be Aladdinish. I am hoping for many orgasms tonight. Xander can be very commanding when he wants to be, so I decided I would be at his command tonight.” Anya said. “So, what are you thinking for your costume?”

Buffy sat there quiet for a while trying to come up with any kind of idea. “I don’t know.” she finally sighed.

“Well, it’s Halloween. The one time where you have the chance to not be yourself, so let’s play off of that. How about...” Anya and Buffy sat there staring at the wall trying to imagine Buffy in various costumes. “What about a Biker Chick? That’s different.”

“I don’t think so.” Buffy said. “I just want to surprise Spike and have fun tonight.”

Suddenly Anya’s eyes widened. “I know!!!” she yelled jumping off the couch and running into her bedroom. Buffy could hear her rummaging through her room, obviously looking for something specific. Buffy waited anxiously. After what seemed like forever, Anya came out of her room. She slowly walked toward Buffy with her hands behind her back and big smile on her face. Buffy said nothing, just allowed her eyebrows to furrow in confusion. Anya let out a small giggle, but continued to hold her hands behind her back. Buffy still said nothing as her eyebrows shot up in a silent question. Anya finally pulled an item from behind her back and placed it on table in front of Buffy.

Buffy’s eyes widened comically before she finally found her voice. “Oh, HELL NO!!!” she screeched.

“Come on Buffy. Live a little. With this little idea you’ll definitely get some good tips and Spike won’t know what’s hit him.” Anya said, trying to give Buffy encouragement.

Buffy looked at the whip that sat on the table. “Anya, I am not dressing up as that ”

Anya shook her head. “Buffy you have to learn when to let...” Just then, there was a knock on the door. Anya opened the door, revealing an excited Willow.

“Hey, guys. Ready to go? Buffy, have you decided on a costume?” Willow asked quickly.

“I was just trying to convince her to let loose and go as a Dom, hence the whip.” Anya huffed.

“Wow, Buffy. That would definitely show your wild side. I think you should do it. I mean, Tara and I dressing to get tips tonight, why not you? Men will definitely be fighting to give you their money. Hell even some women.”

“WILLOW!!!” Buffy yelled in shock.

“I agree with Willow. We can help you pick things out, and if Spike doesn’t like it, you can blame the whole thing on us. Come on Buffy.” Anya whined. Willow held out the whip for Buffy to take. Buffy looked at it for what seemed like forever to Anya and Willow, before taking it.

“Yeah!! Great let’s go shopping. First, let’s see if you have anything remotely slutty enough in your closet.” Anya said dragging Buffy into the bedroom. Willow followed behind excited about the day.

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“You okay in those shoes? They are kinda dangerous looking.” Willow asked.

“It’s not the shoes that I’m having the problem with. I cannot believe you talked me into dressing like this. Is it too late to change my mind?” Buffy said as she stared at herself in the mirror.

“No!! You agreed and now you must follow through. You will definitely be getting lucky tonight. Now..” Anya turned to Willow. “We must keep Spike from seeing her until she goes downstairs. Can you distract him long enough to let us get ready and me to convince Buffy to leave the apartment with her outfit on?”

“Leave it to me. Let me just check myself.” Willow said stepping in front of Buffy slightly to look at herself in the mirror. “Think I look good enough?” she asked the other two women.

“You look great Wills.” Buffy said.

“I’d do ya.” Anya said from the bed.

“Thanks guys.” Willow said walking out of the bedroom with the other girls following her. “Try to hurry. I can’t wait to see the other’s reactions, especially Spike.” she said, then she was gone.

“Okay, now, we have to finish with you.” Anya said pushing Buffy down to sit on the couch. “I want to teach you a few things that will really get the guys going, later.” she said with an sneaky smile.

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Willow stood at the bar with the rest of the Scoobies. All were dressed in their outfits. However it was Spike that stood out from them all. His usual blond curls were dangerously spiked. He wore a pair of tight black jeans and a vest, sans the shirt, that was adorned with safety pins. Black eyeliner and a spiked dog collar finished of his look.

“So, Spike, what are you supposed to be?” Willow asked.

“A punk rocker. I think it was appropriate and I think it’ll get me quite a few tips.” Spike said proudly.

“I think we all look great.” Tara said.

“Hopefully all the customers do too.” Willow said.

The group grinned at the thought. All of them turned when they heard someone clear their throat at the end of the bar. Anya stood there waiting for compliments on her costume before she said a word.

“You look HOT!!!” Xander said walking up to her and kissing her passionately. “Can’t wait until tonight.” Xander whispered into her ear. Anya giggled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before ushering back over to the others.

“Okay, guys. Buffy’s a little shy about revealing her outfit. I think she looks great and hopefully you will too. Come on out, Buffy.” Anya announced.

From around the corner, Buffy shook her head. “Come on out, Buffy.” Anya said again through clenched teeth.

Buffy closed her eyes and walked out to stand next to Anya. When she opened her eyes everyone’s eyes were on her, including the rest of the staff. Anya glared at anyone who wasn’t in her group of friends, causing them to go back to work.

“Wow.” Tara and Xander said together.

Spike tried to gather his thoughts as he took in Buffy’s new look. She wore the same pair of leather pants that she wore when they went to the club in LA. Now, however, they were paired with a pair of black stiletto heels and a tight leather halter that left nothing to the imagination. She wore a chain belt loosely around her waist that held a pair of hand cuffs. Her usually modest makeup and hair finished the costume. Makeup that made her features pop had been applied and jet black streaks had been added to her hair. All in all, she looked dangerous.

Buffy looked at Spike expectantly. Spike noticed the look in her eyes and ran to her, kissing her with everything he had. “I don’t think anything has turned me on as much as you are right now.” he whispered into her ear. Buffy smiled and winked at him when he pulled away.

“Okay guys. Let’s get to work.” she yelled.

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Buffy collapsed into the chair as soon as the door was locked. “Well, that was definitely a rush.” she said. “I think was our best night ever.”

“I have to agree with you on that.” Willow said counting her tips.

Buffy got up and walked over behind the bar. “Wow. We sure did run through the bottles fast.” she said grabbing all the empty bottles off of the counter behind the bar. “I’m gonna go throw these away.” she said as she walked into the kitchen. She walked over to the trash and noticed that it had already been emptied. She shrugged and walked into the alley to throw the bottles into the dumpster.

“Hold it right there.” someone said as she turned around. A man stood there holding a gun. “Give me whatever money you have.” he said.

“Oh God. I don’t have any money. I...I...Please don’t hurt me. Please.” she begged as she collapsed to the ground.

Everything went black.


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Please review. I want to know what you think.

“SPIKE!!!”

Spike ran around the tables being chased by a frantic redhead. Willow stopped chasing him for a minute while she removed the chunks of ice that were shoved down the back of her costume. Tara got up and helped her remove the ones that had started to melt down her back.

‘If looks could kill.’ Spike thought, when Willow shot him a nasty look.

“Willow, baby, why don’t you go outside and get some fresh air. See what Buffy’s up to.” Tara said trying to calm Willow down, while fixing the back of her costume. Willow nodded slightly and gave Tara kiss on the cheek before walking into the kitchen.

“She’ll be okay right? I mean, I wouldn’t have done it if I’d known she’d get that mad.” Spike said slumping down into the closest chair.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be good. She’s just a little uncomfortable in her outfit, with it being so hot in here. Just give her a little bit.”

“Thanks, pet. Don’t want anyone pissed off after such a good night.” Spike said gratefully. “So, how...”

“SPIKE!!!” Willow yelled.

“Damn, I thought you said she’d be okay.” said shooting out of his seat. Tara gave him a shrug.

“SPIKE!!! Get out here, NOW!!!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Everyone could hear the panic in her voice and took off running into the alley. Seconds later they all skidded to a halt in the doorway. Xander, Tara, and Anya stood there shocked at the scene before them while Spike ran to where Willow was kneeling.

“I don’t know what happened. I came out here and found her like this.” Willow said trying to hold back her tears. “Her pulse is really slow and..” Willow trailed off losing control. Tara stepped up behind her, pulled her into her arms and slowly backed away, giving Spike room to do what he needed to.

“Harris, can you drive my car?” said in a calm voice.

“Um, yeah, of course, man.” Xander whispered.

“I’ll carry Buffy out to the car and sit with her in the backseat. Xander you drive. Tara and Willow, follow us in your car. Anya...”

“I’ll stay here and make the necessary calls. I think it’ll be best if we just close up tomorrow.” Anya explained as Spike picked Buffy up. He realized as soon as he lifted her up, that she was bleeding.

“Anya, can you run upstairs and grab a couple of towels?” Spike asked. Anya nodded and was gone in a flash.

The group quickly made their way out to the parking lot. Xander and Tara helped Spike anyway they could while Willow sat in the passengers seat of the second car. Anya ran out to them and handed the towels to Spike. When Spike and Buffy were comfortable in the backseat, Xander jumped into the driver’s seat.

“I’ll be there as soon as I get everything done here. I’ll call Buffy’s mom as soon as I get inside.” Anya said before Xander pulled out of the parking lot with Tara and Willow following them.

“Come on baby, stay with me.” Spike whispered as he cradled Buffy.

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“SPIKE!!!”

Spike was seriously getting tired of having people yell his name at him. Spike looked toward the doors and saw Joyce running towards him. Everyone had gone home with a promise from Spike to call them and tell them about the situation.

“Oh God, Spike. What happened?” she asked frantically.

“Not sure yet. She was unconscious when we found her. The doctor is still with her.” Spike said giving her a hug to calm them both.


“I wish we didn’t always have to see each other in this hospital.” she said pulling away from Spike so they could sit down. “How long has she been in there?”

“Not real sure. Seems like an eternity.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ms. Summers. Mr. Hart. Would you follow me?” a nurse said from the double doors that led into a white hallway. Spike and Joyce followed the petite nurse down the labyrinth of hallways. Finally she stopped and opened a door that led into a private room. Joyce immediately ran to Buffy’s side while Spike hovered by the wall. “The doctor will be right in.” the nurse said before leaving and closing the door behind her.

“Spike, come over here. You should be here as much as I should.” Joyce said nodding her head toward an empty seat in the room.

Spike walked slowly toward the chair and pulled it up close to the bed. Spike took her hand in his and allowed the tears to finally fall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joyce and Spike sat in the room listening to the heart monitor that kept them on edge, not knowing if Buffy’s condition would change any second. Every once in a while, Spike would lift Buffy’s hand to his lips and kiss it gently. Joyce would smile a little every time he did this.

“You really love her don’t you?” Joyce said, breaking the silence.

“More than anything. I didn’t think I could fall in love so quickly, but she came along and stole my heart.” Spike said.

“She loves you too. I know she does.” Joyce said getting up and giving Spike a comforting hug. Joyce and Spike both jumped when they heard the door open and close.

“Ms. Summers. Mr. Hart.” the doctor said nodding a hello to them. “Thank you for waiting. I had another emergency come in. We have stabilized her but she has slipped into a coma. When she came in she had an extremely fast heartbeat that we gave her some medication for. She also had an injury to her head that we stitched up the wound. She has a concussion and that’s the cause of the coma. Now, since this is the second time this has happened I would like to put her on a long term medication, when she wakes.” He looked down at Buffy’s chart before looking at them again. “There was swelling in her ankle so it was x-rayed. It seems as though she has a sprain. We wrapped it up to keep it from being moved around.” He looked down once again. “That seems to be all. Do you have any questions?”

“No, doctor. Thank you for everything. I just want Buffy to wake up so we ask her what happened.” Joyce said shaking the doctors hand. Spike shook his hand as well.

“You may stay in here tonight. However, I suggest you get you both go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat.” the doctor said before opening the door and leaving.

“I’ll go get us something...” Spike said.

“No. You stay. You worked all night, you must be exhausted. I have the feeling that you won’t be leaving anytime soon. I’ll go get us some food.” Joyce said and left.

“You’ve got a great mother. She reminds me a lot of my mum.” Spike said, sitting down and taking her hand again. “What happened, luv? Come on, baby, wake up and tell me.” he said squeezing her hand. Spike once again felt tears form in his eyes and didn’t try to stop them. Joyce came into the room and handed Spike a sandwich and a soda. “Thanks, Joyce. Um...I’m going to go make some calls. I’ll be back in a bit.” he said when he finished his sandwich.

“Go ahead, honey. Take all the time you need.” she said.

Spike left the room and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket along with a pack of cigarettes as he walked outside. Spike dialed Anya and Xander first, then Tara and Willow. Spike smoked a few cigarettes before calling his mom. He put his phone back up and started to walk back into the hospital, but stopped suddenly. He pulled his phone out and made one more phone call.

“Hey, it’s Spike. I was wondering if you would do something for me.”

/////////////////////////////

"Hello, mum.” Spike said when his mother walked through the doors of the hospital later in the afternoon the next day. “Thanks for coming.”

Jenny instantly gave him a comforting hug. “Any news?”

“No. She still in a coma. I can’t bring myself to leave her side.” he said.

“Well, I brought you clothes like you asked me to. Have you gotten any sleep?” she said following him into Buffy’s room.

“Yeah. I slept in the chair earlier. I told Joyce to go home and get some sleep, so she can come back later more refreshed and focused.” Spike said sitting down in the same chair he had slept in.
Spike looked at Buffy. “I really hate hospitals. I’ve spent too much time in different hospitals. First Cordelia, now Buffy. I don’t want to lose someone else I love.”

“William, you won’t lose her. She’ll come out of this, and she’ll know that you were here, by her side, the whole time. Stay positive, no matter how hard it may get.” Jenny said.

Spike nodded. His mother always listened to his troubles and gave him support. “Mum, I was wondering if we could have Thanksgiving dinner at da’s house this year. I would like for Buffy and Joyce to be there as well.”

“Of course, honey. That’s a great idea. But we will be having Christmas at my house.” Jenny said giving Spike a gentle smile. “I should probably go now. I know they don’t like a lot of people in the room at one time and I assume that your friends will coming today?”

“Yeah. They said they would be by this afternoon. I hope they show soon.”

“Don’t worry honey. Now give me a hug, before I leave.” she said holding her arms out. Spike stepped into her arms. “I’ll see you later sweety.” she said giving him a kiss on the cheek and leaving the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, man.” Xander said as he stepped into the room along with Anya, Tara, and Willow. “How ya doin’?”

“As good as can be expected, I guess.” Spike said giving everyone a hug. “I just want her to wake up. I want to know what happened and that everything’s okay.”

“That’s what we all want.” Tara said gently.

“We all bought flowers to brighten up the room.” Anya said sitting a floral arrangement down on one of the tables in the room.

“Thank you, Anya. I actually wanted to talk to you. I have asked some friends to come down from LA and take Buffy’s spot behind the bar temporarily. I’ve known her for a while and she bartends every once in a while. Here’s her information.”

Anya took the piece of paper and looked at it before looking back at Spike. “Her name’s Winifred Burkle? She sounds like a nerd to me. I don’t think she will bring people in.”

“Don’t worry. She’s a cutie and her nickname is Fred. She’s really good and she agreed to come down her and do this for us. Please just call her. You’ll like her.” Spike reasoned.

“Okay, Spike. I’ll give her a call.”

“Have you called and talked to everyone to tell them what’s going on?” Spike asked.

“Yeah. Except Riley. I don’t know where he is. I called him on his cell phone and at home, but he didn’t answer either one. I left messages telling him to call me.”

“Good. I’m glad Buffy put you in charge.”

“No problem, I just want Buffy to get better.” Anya said with tears in her eyes. “She’s my best friend.”

“Hello everyone.” Joyce said seeing all of Buffy’s friends in the room. “I’m glad you’re here. Maybe you can get Spike to go get something to eat.”

“That’s a good idea. You need to get out of this room for a little while. I think we should all go out for lunch.” Willow said looking at Spike pleadingly.

“No need to pout. I’ll go with you. Joyce you have my cell phone number if anything happens.” Spike said. Joyce nodded. “Good.” Spike walked over to the bed and gave Buffy a kiss on the cheek and leaned over to her ear. “I love you.” he said out loud, then whispered so nobody could hear.

“Don’t leave me.”

“Never.”
__________________________________________________

A/N: What's going to happen next?? Review and tell me what you think.

“Oh, my God! Buffy, Baby?” Joyce cried running over to the side of the bed. Xander immediately ran outside to tell one of the nurses.

Buffy opened her eyes but closed them again quickly she did move her hands. “Can you turn off the lights or something? The lights are hurting my eyes.”

“Of course, honey.” Tara said flipping off the lights while Joyce turned on a small lamp in the corner of the room.

“Thanks.” Buffy said, finally opening her eyes and looking at the people that surrounded her. “Hey...how long have I been here?”

“Too long. A day and a half. We were all so worried.” Xander said.

The nurse came through the door and fought her way through the people that surrounded the hospital bed. “Could I get some of you to wait in the waiting room? We really need to be able to move around in here.” she said politely. Xander, Anya, Tara, and Willow all nodded and left the room, while Spike moved to the nearest corner. Joyce stayed at the side of Buffy’s bed. The nurse started doing the normal checkup. The doctor came in a minute after. He, too, started to check Buffy’s vitals.

“Well, your body seems to be recovering quite nicely. Your ankle is still quite swollen. The wound on your head is starting to heal. Your heartbeat is normal. Your mother and boyfriend have been very worried about you. They also haven’t left your side.” the doctor said.

Buffy looked at Joyce and Spike before looking back at the doctor. The doctor continued. “Buffy there are some tests I’d like to perform on you, just to make sure your heart didn’t sustain any damage, so I want to keep you here for at least a week. I would also like to discuss some treatment methods with you. I told your mother that I would like to put you on a long-term medication. However, there are other ways to treat your condition. Do you have any questions?”

Buffy shook her head. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions, then?” the doctor asked. Again Buffy just shook her head. “Good. Now, do you know how you got here?”

“I’m guessing someone brought me.” she said.

“Good answer, but not the one I was looking for. No, what I meant was, do you remember the events that led up to you being here?” he said with a smile.

“I...I had just closed the bar. We were all sitting around inside talking and I decided I should clean up a little. I went behind the bar and picked up the extra bottles. I walked into the kitchen to throw them away but the trash had already been taken out. I went out back, to the alley, and threw them in the dumpster. I...” she paused and looked down at her hands.

“Go on.” the doctor said gently.

“I turned around to go inside, when somebody behind me told me to ‘hold it and give him all my money’. I panicked. He had a gun. I told him I didn’t have any money, which I didn’t think I did. I begged him not to hurt me. All the sudden I felt a pain in my chest and I collapsed to the ground. He walked behind me and grabbed some money I had stuffed into my back pocket. I heard him laugh a little and then everything went black. I think he must’ve hit me in the back of my head with the gun.” she looked back at the doctor. “I was so scared.” she whispered.

“How did the man know that you had money in your back pocket, luv?” Spike asked, as Joyce took Buffy’s hand in her own and squeezed it slightly.

“I guess he had been watching me all night.” Buffy said.

“I’ll inform the police.” the doctor said walking over to the phone and placing the call. He came back to the side of the bed when he was done. “They’ll be here shortly to get your story. Now, do you mind if we talk about treatments? The decision should be made as soon as possible.” he said.

“Go ahead and tell me about them so I can start thinking about it.” Buffy answered sounding strong once again.

“Well, you have two options. One, as I said before, is long-term medication. The other option would be an electric device, you probably know it as a pacemaker.” the doctor said leaning against the side of the bed.

“A Pacemaker?” Buffy asked.

“Yes. With your condition it would be ideal. You wouldn’t have to worry about taking your medication everyday. And if your heart begins to pump irregularly it will automatically send an electrical impulse to the muscle causing it to normalize.” the doctor explained.

“It’s definitely something I need to think about before making a decision.” Buffy said.

“Of course. But the decision should be made quickly.” he said. There was a knock on the door before a police officer walked through the door. “I should be leaving now. I’ll be by later to see if you have made a decision.” he said, standing up and leaving the room.

“Buffy Summers?” the officer asked. Buffy nodded. “Doctor Hamilton told me that you needed to report a robbery and an assault. Would you please tell me what happened?” He asked.

Buffy told the story once again while Spike stood in the corner. It had shocked him that she had woken up so suddenly. He didn’t know whether to grab her and hug her or to collapse and cry. She often shocked him and today was no different. When she told her story the first time she sounded so fragile. Now she sounded stronger. He focused on the conversation between Buffy and the officer.

“...like I said earlier, I think he hit me on the back of the head with the gun.” she finished.

“Miss Summers, do you think that you could give us a description of the man?” he said as he wrote on a pad.

“I can do even better.” she said. Buffy looked directly into Spike’s blue eyes as she explained to the officer. “His name is Riley Finn. He’s the bouncer at my bar.”
__________________________________________________

A/N: Please Review. I want your opinions.

“That asshole. I can’t believe he would do something like this.” Xander said. After Buffy had said who had done this to her, Spike couldn’t take it anymore and walked out of the room. He ran into the rest of the group on his way outside. They wanted to know everything. Spike hesitantly told them about what happened to Buffy. When he got to the part about who did it, Spike spit the name out in disgust. Xander continued to rant. “Buffy gave him a job. He was just bitter that she wouldn’t date him.”

“He never gave us any clue that he would ever do something like this. That’s why Anya couldn’t get a hold of him. No telling where he’s gone.” Willow said.

“Look, the cop’s probably finishing up with her. Why don’t you lot go on in and talk to her. I’m gonna go have a smoke. I’ll be back in in a minute.” Spike said. He walked toward the hospital doors when they all agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group walked into the room quietly listening to Buffy conversation with the police officer.

“Thank you Miss Summers. It would really help if you could give us as much of his information as possible as soon as possible.” the officer said putting away his notepad.

“Anya is the manager at my bar.” said to the officer, then addressed Anya. “Anya, do you think you could get all of Riley’s information to the police?”

“Of course, It would be my pleasure. Anything to help you catch the bastard.” Anya said.

“Thank you. Here’s my card. Just find me whenever you can get it all together.” the officer said before nodding to everyone and leaving the room.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Buffy finally broke the silence. “I’m so glad you guys are here. I saw all of the flowers that you brought me. They are all so beautiful. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Oh, Buffy, like we said before, we were so worried about you. We’re just so happy your okay. I was so scared when I found you. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that before.” Willow said on the verge of tears.

“Oh God, Willow. I’m so glad you found me in time.” Buffy said holding her arms open to give Willow a hug.

“We all are.” Xander said, as he took Willow’s spot in Buffy’s embrace. “Thank goodness for Spike. He took control after Willow called us outside.”

“Is he okay? I haven’t talked to him since I woke up. Where’d he go?” Buffy asked looking around at the others.

“He went outside to have a smoke...” Tara started.

“But he finished and decided to come back to the room.” Spike said, leaning against the door with a small smile. “How are you feeling, luv?” he asked walking to stand next to Joyce at Buffy’s bedside.

“Better. You know, with being awake and all. Ankle hurts a lot. Guess I won’t be walking around any time soon.” Buffy said.

“Hey, Buffy. I think we’ll be going now. Let you have some time alone.” Willow said patting her hand and smiling at Joyce and Spike. “Good idea. Bye guys.” Tara said as she followed her girlfriend out the door.

“Well, I guess we should probably go to. I have to get thing ready to open tomorrow so we can keep making money.” Anya said taking Xander’s hand and leading toward the door.

“Where she goes I must follow. We’ll see ya tomorrow.” Xander said before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Joyce looked at Buffy and Spike feeling that she was invading their privacy. “Um.. I’m going to go get some coffee. Would you kids like anything?” she asked.

“I could use some ice water.” Buffy said.

“Could you get me some coffee too?” Spike said shyly.

“Of course, I’ll be back in a minute or two.” Joyce said with a smile.

Silence filled the room after Joyce left. Spike didn’t say anything for the fear of breaking down. Buffy didn’t know what Spike was thinking and was afraid to find out.

“Spike?” Buffy said breaking the silence.

“Yeah, luv.”

“Thank you.” she said suddenly looking into his eyes.

“For what?” he asked.

“For everything. For taking control, when you needed to the most. For being here for me when I woke up. I kinda feel like Snow White and your my Prince Charming. I woke up as soon as you kissed me. I heard you say that you love me and to not leave you. I remembered what you said to me when I said that before. I’ll never leave you and I love you, too.” she said with tears in her eyes.

“Oh God, Buffy.” Spike cried while peppering her face with kisses. “I was so scared that I was going to lose you. I...”

“Spike don’t cry, baby, please. Come here.” she said moving over on the bed. “Hold me.” she said patting the empty space she made. Spike simply nodded and climbed into the bed gathering Buffy into his arms. Both were breathing hard trying to control reign in their tears. “I have some things that I want to discuss with you and mom. About my treatments. I don’t know which I should choose. Surgery scares me but I don’t want to forget my meds one day and have another episode.”

“I’ll support whatever you do, pet. I just want to prevent this from happening in the future.” he reasoned. “I think we should wait and discuss it with your mum. See what she has to say about it.”

“Me too.” she said snuggling into his side more.

“I talked to Anya about hiring a friend of mine as a temporary bartender to replace you if that’s okay.” Spike said.

“That’s probably a really good idea. Where are they from?” Buffy said sitting up a little.

“LA. Her name’s Fred. She’s driving down tomorrow. She’s really sweet and she’s a pretty good bartender.” Spike explained.

“Thanks Spike. I would really like to meet her, but I think we should let Anya interview her. I also need to get another bouncer.” she said quietly.

“Okay, kids. I’ve got hot coffee and ice water. I have some sandwiches for us too.” Joyce said after walking in and setting her things down on the table.

“Thanks mom. But I think we should really talk about my treatment while we eat.” Buffy said sitting up straight while Spike moved off the bed to give her some room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello everyone. Came by to see how you are.” the doctor said picking up Buffy’s chart and writing down some notes.

“Doing good. My ankle still hurts but other than that I feel okay.” Buffy said.

“Good. Now have you thought about what we talked about earlier?” the doctor asked.

“Um, yeah. I talked it over with Spike and my mom. I have a few more questions.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello, may I speak to Fred Burkle?” Anya asked.

“Speaking. How may I help you?” came a sweet voice from the other end of the line.

“This is Anya Jenkins from the bar that a friend of yours works at, Spike. He told me that you were willing to fill in temporarily for one of our bartenders.”

“Yeah, I was planning on driving down tomorrow. I’ve never been to Sunnydale. I wanted to have a look around.”she said excitedly.

“Well, we could meet sometime tomorrow. How about noon?” Anya suggested.

“That would be great. So, do I just meet you at the club?” She asked.

“Didn’t Spike tell you anything about ‘The Grind’?” Anya asked.

“Not really. He seemed like he was in a hurry. He just asked me if I was willing to interview for the job.” Fred explained.

“Oh okay. Well, ‘The Grind’ is a coffeehouse during the day and becomes a bar at night.” Anya said.

“That’s so cool. So why exactly do you need me?”

“Well Buffy, the owner, is also a bartender here. She got attacked by the bouncer the other night. She’s in the hospital right now. We don’t know how long she’ll be out, so Spike recommended you for the job.”

“Oh, my goodness. Is she okay? Does that happen a lot?” Fred asked worriedly.

“God no. I’ve never heard of it happening here before. Any yes she’s just fine. I guess our bouncer turned out to be a psycho. I have to hire another pretty soon. So...I need to go. If you any more questions, I can answer them tomorrow, okay.” she said.

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow at noon.” Fred said before hanging up.

“Well at least she’s happy.” Anya said to herself hanging the phone up gently. “Now for the fun part.” she said grabbing a card out of her jeans. She picked up a stack of papers and headed out the door. Pulling out her cell phone she dialed the numbers on the card. “Hello officer. This is Anya Jenkins. I have all the information you’ll need on one Riley Finn.”
__________________________________________________

A/N: Please review me. I also have a question. Wesley (season 5, AtS) or Charles Gunn?

One Week Later...

Buffy was still in the hospital. Everyone had agreed that it would be the best option for her to receive that electronic device. The doctor had scheduled Buffy for surgery a few days after they had agreed to do it. Buffy had finally convinced Spike to go home and get some rest the day she woke up. Spike and Joyce both came and visited Buffy everyday, staying as long as possible. Willow and Tara had shown up a few times. One day Xander and Anya showed up.

“I gave all of Riley’s information to the police officer. I also interviewed Spike’s friend, Fred. She is a really sweet girl. I also put out an ad for a bouncer. We had a lot of well built, good looking men interview, but I have two that would be good for the job.” Anya rambled.

“Thanks, Anya. You’ve done so much for me. I trust your judgement.” Buffy said sitting up in the bed slightly. “God, I can’t wait to get home. The doctor told me I can go home on tomorrow can’t move around too much, because of my ankle but at least I will be out of this hospital.” she said.

“I can have the guys show up on Tuesday so you can interview them. You could also meet Fred.” Anya said excitedly.

“Good idea.” Buffy said. “The doctor said I can’t start working again until after Thanksgiving. I would like to discuss that with Fred.”

“Okay. I guess I should be getting back to the coffeeshop, just wanted to give you an update.” Anya said giving Buffy a hug.

“Thanks again. See ya later Xander.” Buffy called as they closed the door. “I seriously don’t know what I would do without her. She has taken on a lot on such short notice. I should really do something for her.” Buffy said to Joyce and Spike.

“Right now you should rest, luv.” Spike said. “I wanted to talk to you about Thanksgiving. I talked to my mum about you and Joyce driving up to LA and having dinner with my Da and Viv. We usually have dinner on our own but I thought it might be nice to have everyone together this year.”

“Spike, that’s so great. I would be happy to meet all of your family.” Joyce said. “Not to mention I received a call from Vivian about opening another gallery. We talked for quite a long time. She seemed so nice.”

“I would love that. It’s been so long since we’ve attended a big Thanksgiving dinner.” Buffy said happily.

“I’ve already asked Da and Viv. They said that we can stay at their house, if you wanted to go the day or two early. We could get some Christmas shopping done then.” Spike said looking at Joyce and Buffy. Both nodded with big smiles on their faces. Spike was happy to see both the Summers women happy. Spike and Joyce had become close friends since Buffy had been in the hospital. “Great. I’ll call them and tell them your coming. Knowing Viv she’ll want to get started on fixing up the guest rooms.” he said with a smile.

“Will you ask Vivian if she wants me to help with dinner?” Joyce asked.

“Yeah, I’ll call her now. I’m go have a smoke anyway.” he said leaving the room.

As soon as Spike left the room Joyce turned to Buffy. “I’m glad you found him. He’s such a sweet man and he loves you so much.” she said.

“Yeah. I’m glad I found him too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day just before Buffy was due to check out of the hospital the police officer paid her a visit.

“Hello, Ms. Summers. I wanted to come by and thank you for all of the information you gave me. We’ve caught Mr. Finn. We found him living on a farm in Iowa. I looked up his background and apparently he was a suspect in another robbery in LA. He gave you his parents information, so I called them and they led me right to him. I don’t think he thought things through.” the officer said.

“Thank you so much. That takes so much off of my mind. Will I have to do anything else?” Buffy asked.

“No. You already identified him. We’ll call you if we need you to testify or anything. I know you’re supposed to check out now, so I’ll be leaving.” he said

“Thanks again.” Buffy said before he closed the door. “Thank goodness that’s over with. I really need to make sure I do a criminal background from now on.”

“Let’s worry about that later. Right now I think it’s time to go. Spike went to go get you a wheelchair. He should...” Joyce said. Just then Spike walked through the door with a wheelchair. ‘I’m having another case of deja vu.’ she thought.

“Okay, pet. Let’s get you out of here.”Spike said helping Buffy into the chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, Anya.” Buffy said slowly walking over to one of the tables in the coffeeshop.

“Hey, Buffy. How ya doin’ today? You didn’t leave your room yesterday after you came home, and you looked really horrible so I decided not to bother you.” Anya said bringing Buffy a caffe mocha.

“I’m feeling a lot better since I got to sleep in my own bed, and thanks for the coffee.”

“Hey, Anya.” came a voice from behind Buffy.

“Hi, Fred. Fred, I’d like you to meet Buffy. Buffy, Fred.” Anya said motioning for Fred to join them at the table.

Buffy gave Fred a big smile and shook her hand. ‘She looks so innocent. Hard to believe that she’s a bartender. I wonder how Spike knows her?’ Buffy thought. “Nice to meet you, Fred.”

“Nice to meet you too. You have a great place here. I’m glad Spike suggested I come down here.” Fred said excitedly.

“Me too. So, how long have you been bartending?” Buffy asked getting down to business.

“Um..about two years. I was studying physics in college. I was completely obsessed with anything to do with science. I was always in the library, the science building or my apartment. I never went out. Then one day, something happened. Somebody led me into an alternate universe. I started going out all the time drinking , even did some drugs. My friends started worrying about me and did an intervention. I went out and got a job at an art gallery. That’s how I know Spike. It was his stepmother’s gallery. I really liked it but I was missing something. On one of Spike’s visits, we had a party at the gallery and he tended the bar. I watched him and knew that that was what I wanted to do. I continued to work at the gallery while I went to bartending school. So, I work bartending at parties now.” Fred said taking a deep breath.

“Wow. So.. I wanted to discuss...” Buffy started.

“Anya.” She heard two voices behind her. Buffy turned once again to see two men standing behind her.

“Hello, boys. This is Buffy, the owner of the bar, and this is Fred, our new bartender. Why don’t you join us?” Anya said gesturing to some extra chair by the wall. Both men nodded and went to go get their chairs.

“Don’t talk much, do they?” Buffy said watching them walk away.

“No, they do. Just gotta get ‘em in the right mood. The rough-looking white guy is British...” Anya said.

“Oh, I love accents.” Fred said looking at the man appreciatively.

“Me, too, but you already knew that.” Buffy said with a smile.

“Anyway,” Anya said huffily, irritated that she was interrupted. “The British one is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, but he asked me to call him Wes. The black man is Charles Gunn, but he goes by just Gunn. Oddly appropriate don’t you think.” she whispered as the men sat down around the table.

“So, have either of you been bouncers before?” Buffy asked. Both men shook their head.

“I have taken martial arts since I was a child. Now it just comes naturally.” Wes said.

“Had it rough as a kid. Had to learn to protect myself. Now it just comes naturally.” Gunn said smirking at his sarcasticness.

“Well. Anya seems to think that your both qualified to do the job so I tell you what. I’ll hire you both. Wes,” Buffy said nodding at him. “You’ll be my watcher. You stay inside the building and watch for any potential trouble.”

“I think I can handle that.” Wes said.

“Gunn, you’ll be at the door. Checking ID’s and stopping troublemakers from entering the bar.”

“Sounds cool.” Gunn said.

“If something does happen in the bar, you two work as a team. All of my workers get along...well, except one. Anyway, we all get along. We’re all friends, we have three couples that work here, that’s how well we get along. If you can’t get along, I won’t hesitate to fire one or both of you. Got it.” Buffy said. Both men nodded slightly surprised at her authoritative tone. “Fred, I’ll be going back to work after Thanksgiving, so I was wondering if you would like to continue here as a waitress. Frankly, I think we could use another one, since the business is picking up fast, and if one of the bartenders can’t work you can fill in for them.”

“I...”Fred looked around the table until her eyes finally settled on Wes. “I think that’s a good idea.” she said not taking her eyes off of Wes. Both Buffy and Anya noticed this and glanced at each other, knowing they were about to up the number of couples that worked there.

“Well, you all start on Thursday. Can you all stay so we can chat? Have a coffee, on the house.” Buffy said calling over one of the waitresses. They all nodded and spent the rest of the day getting to know each other.

---

A/N: Please review. They help me so much. I love compliments and constructive criticism both. So tell me what you think.

“Buffy Anne Summers!! Get your cute ass out here right now. Your mum and me have been ready and waiting for the last fifteen minutes.” Spike yelled from Buffy’s living room.

“Honestly, Spike, she’s a woman, what can you expect?” Joyce laughed.

“Okay, I ready to go. I just had a few more things to pack.” Buffy said walking into the room with a large rolling suitcase and without the aid of crutches. The three were leaving to go to LA for Thanksgiving. Jenny and Giles were down in the coffee shop having coffee. The group had decided to take two cars so they could be free to roam around LA. Joyce had decided to ride with the older couple in the second car.

Spike stood and picked up Buffy’s suitcase for her. “I’ll carry this downstairs for you. My things are already in the car.” Spike said as he toward the door with Joyce and Buffy behind him. Spike led them to the table that Jenny and Giles were seated at. “Hey mum. Rupes. Ready to go.” They couple nodded and downed the rest of their drinks. Spike started out the door as he continued to talk. “So you’re going to follow us right?”

“Yeah, I figured it’d be best since you’ve been there lately. I don’t remember how to get there.” Jenny said.

“You’re driving? Everyone look out!!!” Spike called earning a glare from his mother. “Oh, come on. I’ll never forget that incident at the school.” he said with a laugh.

“None of us will, honey. And no, I’m not driving, Rupert is. It’ll give me and Joyce some time to chat.” Jenny said giving Joyce a big smile.

“Alright, then I guess we’d better get going.” Spike said giving both Jenny and Joyce on the cheek. He took Buffy’s hand and led her toward the car. Buffy climbed into the passengers side seat. Spike started the classic and pulled out of parking lot. After getting on the freeway, Spike pulled Buffy to his side. “I’m really happy you’re coming.”

“Me, too. My Thanksgiving usually consist of my mom making too much food and me burning something, probably a pie. Nothing like a piece of burnt pie.” Buffy said with a laugh. “So...everyone’s staying at the house?”

“Yeah. The house is definitely big enough. Why?”

“Um...where... I mean will I have my own room?” she asked nervously.

“I was hoping you would like to room with me. Of course, it’s up to you, pet.” Spike said placing a kiss on her head.

“I want to sleep with you...I mean stay in you’re room.” she said blushing at her slip.

“I think both can be arranged.” he said whispered.

Buffy sat up and slapped his shoulder. “William Hart!! I’m surprised by you. We are going to be in the same house with our parents and you’re thinking about seducing me.” she said before snuggling back into his side. “So when are we going shopping? I know it’s early but we already said that I could go Christmas shopping. I have so much to buy. I wanted to buy something for everyone at ‘The Grind’. I’ll have to think about that. What do you want?” Buffy rambled finally looking at him expectantly.

Spike shrugged. “Don’t rightly know. Nothing I really need. My parents usually just surprise me and I usually like it.”

“You have to tell me something, or I’ll end up buying something you hate. Although...I don’t really know what I want either. I was always the weirdest little girl. Mom used to take me to see Santa Claus every year. I would see other little kids giving him a list of toys that they wanted. Me, I always froze up as soon as I sat on his lap. It looked like the Santa scene from ‘A Christmas Story’. The helper would come and take me after the Santa got frustrated. It’s funny when I look back on it now.” she laughed.

“Pet, what has got you talking so much. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you this excited.” Spike said with a smile, happy to see her so excited about anything.

“I don’t know. Christmas always makes me feel happy. In high school me and my friends used to do so much at Christmas. One time, when I was seventeen I think, my friends dared me to go sit on Santa’s lap. We went when there was nobody in line. I wore a mini skirt and a halter top. When I got up to him, he looked shocked. I sat on his lap and smiled for the camera. After they took the picture he asked me what I wanted for Christmas. My friends had already told me what I had to say when he asked me. I whispered it in his ear, then got up and ran out the exit. I think he took a break right after that. I was embarrassed but, damn, it was fun.”

“I would have paid anything to be that Santa.” Spike groaned.

“Hm, really. Is that what you want for Christmas?” she said seductively. Gone was the blushing girl. Spike looked at her kinda confused. She decided to go further. She leaned all the way in and started whispering in his ear. “Do you want me to dress up for you? Maybe in a red see-through nighty, with only a red thong underneath. Would you like that?” she finished by taking his ear lobe into her mouth.

Spike groaned again. “Luv, you’re killing me, you know that.”

“But, you love it, don’t you. You like me telling you what we can do together. Do you want me to keep going? Do you want me to tell you what I’d let you do to me?” she continued to whisper.

“Oh, God. Luv, please stop. We’ll be at the house in an hour.” he continued to look at the road. “Then we can go out shopping, then we’ll go have some fun.” he paused. He leaned over to her, imitating her seductive tone. “But tonight, you’ll pay, and I’ll show you exactly what I want to do to you.” Buffy swallowed hard and looked at him slightly nervous but completely aroused. He caught her lips. There was no teasing, no innocence to the kiss. Both had suddenly given in to their lust for the other. Spike pulled away suddenly, knowing he had to concentrate if he wanted to arrive in one piece, leaving Buffy in a daze. Buffy rested her head on his chest. ‘Where the hell did that come from, I’ve never felt that bold before. Spike, he must bring it out of me. God I love this man.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Spike, Buffy!!!” Vivian said greeting them at the door, giving them a tight hug. Vivian allowed the blond duo to pass her, as she moved on to the next in line. “Jenny, Rupert. It’s been so long. You two really should come to visit more often.” she said, giving them both big hugs. “And you must be Joyce. It’s nice to put a face to the voice. We need to get together to discuss our new gallery.” Vivian allowed the rest through the door and closed the door. “I’m so excited to have everyone here for Thanksgiving.” Vivian led them into the living room. “I’ll just go get Ethan. I swear that man takes longer to get ready than any woman I know.”

The group made themselves comfortable, while taking in their surrounding. “This is a beautiful house. What is that Ethan does?” Joyce asked after several minutes of silence.

“I am a lawyer.” Ethan answered from the doorway, as if on cue. “And you must be Joyce, Viv’s future business partner. Very nice to meet you.” he said shaking Joyce’s hand. Buffy and Spike both stood to give him a hug. “Jenny, looking lovely as ever.” he said giving her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Jenny sat down and Ethan turned to Giles. “Ripper!! It’s been to long.” he said greeting him unlike any of the others in the room. Ethan’s voice took on a playful tone.

“No one’s called me that in ages. How’ve you been, Hart?” he asked.

“Um, why did Ethan just call Giles, Ripper?” Buffy whispered.

Spike smiled. “They went through school together. Da used to tell me about stuff they did when they were teenagers. Quite the duo, those two. Raised hell throughout England, Ripper and Hart did.”

“Wow. I would have never thought that about either one.” Buffy said looking at the men. “Okay, maybe about Ethan, but not Giles.” she said with a giggle. Spike turned and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then turned to hear the rest of the conversation between the others.

“Buffy, would you like to help me in the kitchen? Help me get some drinks?” Viv asked. Buffy nodded and Viv grabbed her hand. “Okay, you have two beautiful ladies taking drink orders now.” Viv announced to the others, while Buffy blushed. The group smiled and all told what they wanted to drink.

“Would you like for me to help too?” Joyce asked.

“NO!!! Um... no that’s okay. Stay here and relax. I think we have it covered.” Viv said as she drug Buffy out of the room. Buffy followed Viv into the kitchen and began to get items out of the refrigerator. “The glasses are behind the bar.” she said motioning to a beautiful bar by the wall.

“This is beautiful. It wasn’t here before. Is it handmade?” Buffy asked moving her hand along the smooth wood.

“Yes, it is. One of the men who has work at the gallery made it. I saw it and had to buy it. I keep it in here usually, but if we have a party I have it moved out into the living room. It’s one of the most beautiful items I own. I leant it to one of my friends for her daughter’s wedding reception that week.” Viv explained while Buffy made the drinks. “So, are you and Spike going out tonight?”

“We thought about it. Why?” Buffy asked.

“I thought maybe the old people of the house could go out for dinner, while you went out by yourselves. We can go shopping together. Ethan took off tomorrow. We can all go together. I loved shopping with you.” Vivian said.

“Sounds good. Me and Spike were going to go shopping today, but I like your idea better. Okay, I’ve finished the drinks.” Buffy said topping off Viv’s martini.

“Oh, let me take this out to them, then I’ll come back and help you.” she said leaving Buffy standing behind the bar. She came back a few of seconds later. “Okay, I’ll take these, you take those.” Viv said taking half of the drinks. Buffy looked her slightly confused, but grabbed the other half of the drinks and followed Viv into the living room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the group had relaxed and had a drink, they decided to get to their rooms and get situated. “Spike, you know where you are. Rupert, Jenny, Joyce. I’ll show you where you’re going to be.” Viv said leading them out to get their luggage.

Spike grabbed his and Buffy’s suitcases. Buffy followed him as he led her away from the others.

“Spike, why aren’t we going with the others?” Buffy asked him.

“We’re going to my room.” Spike said simply. He continued to walk toward the back of the house. He opened the back door and walked into the backyard. “The house has a semi-guest house. It’s really just a room and a bathroom, but it’s extremely nice and it’s private.” he said leading her through the front door of the small house.

“Well, I guess my worries about the parents being next door was unnecessary.” Buffy said turning around and giving him a big smile. As soon as he closed the door, she attacked. She jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Spike moved until could drop her gently on the bed.

He pulled back away from her hungry mouth. “Buffy, luv. What has gotten into you?”

“Nothing, yet. I want you to make love to me. It’s been a month, Spike. I need you.” she whispered. Spike could see it in her eyes. He bent his head slowly, capturing her lips gently. Slowly, their clothes fell away. They had moved, so that they lay in the middle of the bed. Nothing was rushed. Spike worshiped Buffy’s body, and comforted her when she tried to cover the scar from her surgery. When he finally entered her, they both sighed with relief. After what seemed like eternity, they toppled over the edge together, drowning in the others eyes. Spike rolled, allowing them to stay intimately connected without crushing her. Spike stroked her hair softly, thinking she had fallen asleep, until he felt tears on his chest.

“Buffy?” Spike asked worriedly. When she didn’t look up, he moved into a sitting position and lifted her chin. “Pet, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just feel so emotional. You make me feel so beautiful. I was worried about what the pacemaker would do to me. Scar me, make me feel different. But you make all of my worries go away. I...” she trailed off as tears made their way down her cheeks.

Spike kissed her forehead gently and wiped away the tears on her cheeks. “I think you need to have some fun, luv. We have to go out tonight.” Spike said lifting her off of him. “You, go take a shower. We’re going to go have some fun.”

Buffy gave Spike a huge smile and quick peck on the lips before running into the bathroom.

Buffy came out of the steamy bathroom a few minutes later with a towel wrapped around her. She rolled her bag over to the dresser and opened it searching for something to wear. She pulled out various item finally finding what she was looking for. She laid out the outfit and looked over at Spike, who was still lying on the bed. “Spike, are you going out like that? Cause I gotta say, while I do love your body, I prefer not to have people ogling your goodies.” she said with a smile.

“Why, pet, I do believe you’re getting a little possessive.” he said standing up and stretching, completely comfortable in his nudity.

“You betcha, baby.” she said looking him up and down.

Spike walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “So what do you want to do tonight?” he said burying his nose into her wet hair.

“I think we should go out to a club. Drinks and some body grinding on the dance floor always makes for a memorable night. Unless you have too many drinks.” she laughed.

“Alright, luv. Let me take a shower right quick.” he said leaving her to get ready.

Buffy quickly blow dried her hair before putting it up with chopsticks, allowing a few strands to hang around her face. She looked at the outfit she had set out. A cream colored tank top and a lace skirt. ‘simple, yet fun’ she thought. She was putting on her make-up when Spike walked out of the bathroom. Spike threw on a pair of black jeans and a tight black t-shirt with an open, red, button up shirt. “Ready to go, luv” Spike asked. Buffy gave him a nod and they walked out the door together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike and Buffy walked through the doors of one of the most popular clubs in LA. As soon as they were in, Spike grabbed Buffy’s hand tightly and maneuvered through the crowd, finding them a table. The place was so crowded that you could stand and dance right by the tables and nobody would know care. Buffy sat down while Spike went and got them some drinks. Spike came back and they sat for a while before standing up and dancing to most of the songs that were being played. Finally one that they didn’t care for much began to play giving them time to sit back at there table.

“I love to dance. It makes me feel sexy and beautiful.” Buffy said between sips of her drink.

“I love to watch you dance, cause you are sexy and beautiful.” Spike said pulling Buffy across the table, kissing her soundly. Buffy gave him a big smile. They sat looking at all the people around them.

“Hey, Queen of the Cardboard Jungle, would I get my ass kicked if I asked you to dance?” asked a voice from behind Buffy.

Buffy’s eyes went wide. ‘Oh, my God.’ she thought as she turned slowly in her chair.

“Pike?”
__________________________________________________

A/N: First of all, I borrowed a couple of lines from BtVS the movie. Second of all, I don't think I described the outfit she was wearing to go in, verywell. If you want an idea of what she would look like, think of the balcony scene from 'Dead Things'. I loved that outfit. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. Love all reviews as you know.

'Pike? Who the hell is Pike? Why is she looking at him like that? Wait!!! Why is she throwing herself at him like that?' Spike thought as he watched Buffy's reaction to the man Spike hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet.

"Do you mind?" Buffy asked breaking Spike out of his internal rambling. Spike looked at her confused not realizing she had been talking to him. "Do you mind if I go dance with Pike? This is kinda our song."

Spike forced a smile. "Go ahead. I'll go get us some other drinks." he said, trying to be the non-jealous boyfriend. 'They have a song. We don't have a song. Pike, that's not a name, it's a fish.' he thought as he walked to the bar to get them more drinks, making sure his was slightly stronger this time. While Spike stood at the bar waiting for the bartender to make the drinks, he listened to the words of 'their' song.

Opened my eyes
The fire had come
Not for the end of days
Not for the faithless ones
Not for vision understood
Burns because it has to burn
Change'll happen whether we
Are still or moving

Breathe in waves of doubt
Bitter in your mouth
You will exhale cinnamon clouds

When it is quiet and still
I can feel older here
Change what I can and pray
The hope will not disappear
When we are not denying anything
Nothing is an enemy
Delicately balancing
The perfect world

Ride these waves of doubt
Bitter in your mouth
You will exhale cinnamon clouds
Little heaven

Riding waves of doubt
Turns me inside out
I will exhale primal shout
Little heaven

I understand
The fire will come
Not for the strength of will
Or passion of anyone
I understand
The fire will come
Not for the end of days
Not for the faithless ones

"Oh, bloody hell." he said out loud as he grabbed the drinks that were sitting in front of him. He stalked back over to the table and plopped down in the chair. As soon as another song started to play Buffy and the mysterious Pike came back to the table. Buffy sat in the chair next to Spike and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for getting me the water, baby." she said, taking a big drink of the water he had gotten for her.

"Name's Spike." Spike said putting his hand out to shake the other man's.

"Pike." he said shaking Spike's hand. "Sorry 'bout stealing away Buffy for a dance, man, but I couldn't resist. That song holds a lot of memories." Pike said smiling at Buffy.

"So what have you been up to. I haven't seen you since graduation. I seriously thought you would've left LA by now. You always complained about it." Buffy said steering the conversation in a different direction.

"I guess I grew up. I have a lotta opportunities here. Plus, my girlfriend lives here. Kinda have to stay now." Pike answered.

"Well, where is she? I'd like to meet her." Buffy said waiting for him to point her out.

"She actually just came through the door and is headed this way." he said smiling at someone behind Buffy.

"Pike, babe, sorry I'm late." the woman said before kissing Pike. "So, are you going to introduce me?"

"Oh, yeah, this is Buffy and her boyfriend, Spike. Spike, Buffy, this is my girlfriend, Faith." Pike said as Faith shook hands with the other couple. "Me and Buffy went to high school together."

"Cool, ready to go party?" Faith asked Pike. "Mind if I steal him away now?" she asked the other couple.

"Of course not. Don't be a stanger. I have a bar in Sunnydale, you guys should come by sometime." Buffy said, pulling out a flyer for her club from her club.

"Thanks, we'll definitely come by. It was really good seeing ya, Buff." Pike said giving Buffy a hug. "Nice to meet ya, man." he said nodding at Spike.

"See ya, B. Spike." Faith said as she pulled Pike away from the table.

"You wanna dance?" Buffy asked. Spike simply nodded and stood pulling her to him. "I can't believe I saw him here, after so long." Buffy said excitedly.

"Who is he, pet? To you, I mean." Spike said pulling away a little to look at her.

"Weren't you listening? We went to high school together." she said looking slightly puzzled.

"That's not all though. You don't jump into someone's arms that you just went to high school with. And you don't have a song with someone you go to school with." he said pulling away completely.

"Spike, what is the matter with you? You're acting way weird over this." Buffy said sitting down.

"Nevermind. I'm going outside to have a smoke. I'll be back in a minute." he said, turning to walk away.

"NO!!! You know what. I think it's best if we just leave right now." Buffy said, grabbing her purse and walking past Spike. Spike let her walk on her own all the way to the car. He got into and started the car, without saying a word. The trip back to the house was a silent one.

*************************

Spike and Buffy made their way through the house as quietly as possible, so they wouldn't wake the others. Spike unlocked the door to the smaller house and allowed Buffy to enter the room first. As soon as Spike shut the door, Buffy broke the silence.

"What the hell is your problem?" Buffy said throwing her purse on the table.

"I don't have a problem, pet. Oh, wait, yeah I do. I have a problem with seeing my girlfriend jumping into the arms of another man." Spike responded.

“Oh, please. Your jealous over a guy that I haven’t seen in 8 years…” Buffy started.

“No, I’m jealous because I don’t know what he is to you and you won’t tell me. You say you went to high school together and I believe that. I also believe that there’s more to you two that just that.” Spike said sitting down on the bed waiting for an explanation.

Buffy took a deep breath before starting. “He was my best friend during my first two years of high school. He was my boyfriend the last two. The song we danced to was the first song we ever danced to together. The guy I thought was going to take me decided to dump me on my answering machine. I got upset and stood by these big cardboard cutouts of jungles scenes that were part of the décor.” Buffy moved to sit on the bed next to Spike. “He came in late and I didn’t notice. That’s how it all began. We broke up a little after graduation because we didn’t know where our futures were leading us.” She finished.

“Did you love him?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, I loved him. But I don’t think I was in love with him. He was just a high school boyfriend.” she said, touching his arm gently. ‘I should’ve told him sooner. He looks so hurt.’ she thought as she sat there looking at him. “Look Spike, I love you and nothing is going to change that. I think right now we should go to bed.” she said, getting up to get ready for bed. Spike simply nodded and began to do the same. They both got ready in silence and rather quickly. Spike got into the bed first, laying on the far side of the bed. Buffy slipped under the cover while Spike continued to stare at the ceiling. They both lay there in awkward silence, until Spike finally broke down and pulled Buffy to him. She immediately snuggled closer to him.

As they fell asleep both decided to speak, neither knowing they wanted to say the same thing.

“I’m sorry.”

---

A/N: The song used in this chapter is "Little Heaven" by Toad the Wet Sprocket. It's the same one that Pike and Buffy danced to in the movie. Hopefully my chapters will start getting better soon. Please review and tell me what you think.

“What did you say?”

“I told him I was sorry.” Buffy said to Vivian. Buffy had found that only she and Vivian were up early the next morning and decided to talk to her about the night before. “I know I should have told him about Pike before, but it never even crossed my mind that he would take it that hard.”

“Spike may look rough on the outside but he wears his heart on his sleeve. I’m sure Spike knows that you didn’t mean to hurt him. He loves you. That’s what will keep you two together.” Vivian said rubbing Buffy’s arm gently.

“Thanks. I really like talking to you. You should have been a counselor.” Buffy said moving around the kitchen to pour some coffee.

“That was my minor. So I thought about it.” Viv said. Just then Joyce and Jenny walked into the kitchen.

“Morning everyone.” Joyce said sitting at the counter in the kitchen.

“Want something to drink?” Buffy asked.

“Always the bartender.” Joyce laughed. “Yeah, is there any tea?”

“Yeah in the cabinet. We have English Breakfast or Earl Grey.” Viv said grabbing the tea, while Buffy started to boil the water. Both women asked for Earl Grey.

“So, what are we doing today?” Buffy asked sitting at the counter with the others.

“I thought we could go shopping again. We could start on our Christmas shopping.” Viv suggested. “We could drag the guys along too. Make them start on their Christmas shopping.”

“Sounds good to me. Now all we need to do is convince ‘em.” Jenny laughed.

“I think we can all take care of that.” Buffy said smiling at the other women.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy threw off her robe and climbed back into the bed next to Spike. She snuggled into his side thinking he was asleep until he wrapped his arm around her.

“I thought you were asleep. How long you been up?” Buffy asked giving him a kiss on his cheek.

“Just a minute ago. Got a little worried when you weren’t here, pet.” he said rolling towards her. “I meant what I said last night. I am sorry. I overacted. I just want you to know that you can always be honest with me and vice versa. I love you.” Spike said before kissing her softly. Buffy deepened the kiss and rolled so Spike was stretched out above her. Spike moved slowly to her neck gently nipping and sucking.

“Spike, we need to stop before we get... oh!!” she yelped as he rolled them again so she was straddling him. He sat up quickly before continuing his kisses. “Spike...we should get going...oh, god...um, we’re going shopping with our...parents.” she panted trying to concentrate.

“We have time. I want you. I need you now.” he said pulling back to look into her eyes. “Please.” he added. He knew that she had given in and slowly pushed her back. He slowly drew her negligee up and off her body. Moving down her body, he removed her panties. Buffy pulled him back to her and kissed him softly. They made love slowly before getting ready to go out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you think about this? Anya might like it.” Buffy said holding up a bottle of perfume.

“Luv, I think it’s a sweet gift, but it doesn’t really say Anya. Fred, Red, or Tara would like it though.” Spike reasoned. Buffy nodded in agreement.

“Fred it is. You can help me pick something out for Anya and the boys.” Buffy said dragging Spike back over to where their parents were standing. “So what’s everyone doing for Christmas?”

“Viv and I are going to have Christmas in Sunnydale.” Ethan said as they all started into the next store. “We usually have the grandparents come too. Spike’s grandfather decided to stay home this year. What about your parents, Jenny?”

“They’re going to spend Christmas and New Years in New York. I swear they act like they’re still teenagers.” she said laughing.

“So I guess it’s just us this year.” Spike said looking a little sad. “Right, me and Buffy need to make a stop off at another store. We’ll meet you by the Godiva store.” he said dragging her away.

“What was that all about?” Buffy asked still holding his hand.

“Nothing. Just remembered about that little outfit that you talked about.” Spike said with a smirk.

“Oh.” she answered blushing slightly. “Maybe I can find something for Anya there too. Maybe some of that massage oil that warms up when you blow on it.” Buffy said excitedly, practically running into the store. “Ooh, they have strawberry, pina colada, cherry, and passion fruit. I’ll get her some of this and...what else should I get?”Buffy said looking around the store.

“Do you know her size?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, I snuck a peek at some of her clothes the other day. You think I should get her something to wear?”

“I think that it would make both Xander and Anya happy. I know she wouldn’t take offense to it. Knowing her, she’d kiss you.” Spike laughed.

“I think you’re right. So have you bought your parents gifts yet?”

“Yeah, bought some. I just need to get something for my mum. She’s so special, I just always want her gift to be just as special.” he said looking through the various negligees in the store. Buffy held up one and Spike nodded his approval. Spike then held up a red outfit making Buffy blush. “Come on, pet, let’s check out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanksgiving Day...

“Do you need help with anything?” Buffy asked when she walked into the kitchen.

“NO!!!” Joyce snapped before trying to speak again. “I mean, you should relax. You help me every year. This year you...”

“Mom, you know you’ll miss my blackened pie.”Buffy laughed. “No, what I meant was do you need any help besides the actual cooking?”

“Um, yeah. You can set the table. The foods almost done.” Joyce said. “Oh, honey can you round up the guys, too? Maybe get them to help you set the table.” Vivian asked.

Thirty minutes later, Buffy had rounded up all the men Spike, Ethan and Rupert and persuaded them to help her set the table. Buffy opened and poured everyone a glass of wine that she had selected for their dinner. Vivian and Joyce brought out various dishes that they had made throughout the day. When everyone was finally at the table Spike stood up.

“Um, I really enjoyed this time that we’ve spent together these last couple of days. I’m glad that Buffy and Joyce decided to celebrate with us this year. I feel like I’ve gained two new family members. Saying that, I’d like to...if it’s okay with everyone...I’d like to ask if we could all spend Christmas together?”

“Of course we don’t mind. I think it’s a great idea.” Vivian said after looking around the table for everyone’s approval.

Buffy shrugged and nodded to her mom. “Spike, we’d be happy to join you and your family for Christmas.”

“Good. Well, now that that’s covered, Happy Thanksgiving and let’s eat.” Vivian said happily.

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A/N: Please Review. I'm begging for them.

A/N: There is an unlikely couple in this chapter. I thought they would make a good couple, tell me what you think.
__________________________________________________

The days leading up to Christmas seem to fly by. Spike had started spending most of his nights at Buffy’s, while helping her plan a New Year’s party at the bar.

“So, why don’t we do the whole karaoke thing again? I think people enjoyed that.” Buffy asked. Buffy had decided to have a meeting with the bar staff after the bar closed. Fred, who was now a waitress, sat on Wesley’s lap. Wesley had asked Fred out the day they met, and they had been inseparable ever since.

“I think it’s a good idea.” came a thick Jamaican accent. Kendra, one of the waitress in the coffee shop, had started hanging around with the bar staff after Thanksgiving. It took a few days for Buffy to find out why. The day after Buffy and Spike left for LA, Gunn had shown up at the coffee shop, to meet some of the other staff members. Kendra and Gunn hung out all day, talking and getting to know eachother. Since Gunn didn’t have any family around, Kendra asked him to Thanksgiving dinner. The unexpected couple seemed very happy together.

“Great, so I’ll get someone to come do that for us. We need to get a couple of cases of Champagne too. Oh!! Should we get party favors, or is it too childish?” Buffy asked.

“Pet, I think you should do whatever you want. I think it would be fun to have the noisemakers and hats and confetti.” Spike said.

“Good. I guess that’s all I really needed input on. I’ll call tomorrow and get this all set up, since it’ll be the day before Christmas Eve. Hopefully I haven’t waited too long.” she said standing up from the table. Everyone decided to follow suit and stood as well, ready to leave. “Oh yeah, Anya and I are throwing a little Christmas party upstairs in the apartment for whoever wants to come. I know it’s short notice, but it’s on Christmas Eve during the day so that we can still do your usual Christmas stuff.”

“I’ll be there.” Tara said grabbing her purse and walking to give Buffy a hug. Willow did the same, also agreeing to go to Buffy’s get together. In the end, everyone promised they would go stop by. Everyone left in a big group except Buffy, Spike, Anya and Xander. Anya and Xander raced up the stairs as soon as the front door closed.

“Well, I guess they were in a hurry.” Buffy laughed, flinching slightly when the apartment slammed closed.

“Well, pet, ‘tis the season.”Spike said walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

“To what, be horny?” she asked. Spike pulled her hair away from her shoulder and neck giving him full access. Buffy tilted her head and closed her eyes giving into him.
“If the shoe fits, luv.” he whispered before lightly biting her ear lobe. Buffy couldn’t help the moan that escaped her lips. Spike spun her around crushing his lips to hers while she clung to his shoulders. Spike pulled back so they could breath. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs.

“I feel like Scarlett O’Hara.” Buffy laughed, while rubbing her hands along his muscular chest. Spike opened the door and carefully walked though, closing the door with his foot. Suddenly they heard a loud moan from Anya’s room. Spike rushed into Buffy’s room and closed the door before busting out laughing. He threw Buffy on the bed and climbed in next to her. “She’s really vocal isn’t she.” Buffy laughed.

“Oh, luv, you can give her a run for her money.” he said unbuttoning her shirt.

“Spike...you know we agreed to wait until Christmas. Remember your special gift?” Buffy said.

“Can’t we have an early Christmas.” Spike pouted.

“No. It’s only a couple of days left. You staying here tonight?” she asked while she got out of bed to change.

“Nah, pet. I think I’ll go on to my apartment. Seems like I’m not there very often. I’ll see you tomorrow, luv.” he said. Spike kissed her soundly. “I love you.” he said as he left.

“I love you, too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy and Anya’s Christmas party went over great. Everyone ended up showing up allowing Buffy to give all of her gifts away. Anya and Xander loved the gifts that Buffy had given them.

But now it was Christmas Eve night and she was nervous about her gift to Spike. She had planned a special night for Spike. As soon as she got home from LA, she had asked Anya to help her plan the night. The first thing Anya suggested was to cut Spike off from sex. Buffy had been reluctant, but Anya made her point that it would make that night more special. Spike had thrown a fit when Buffy had told him he was going to have to wait, but she refused to give in, so Spike agreed. Anya then told Buffy she would spend the night at Xander’s apartment, giving Spike and Buffy the apartment to themselves.

Buffy was putting out red candles she had bought for the night. She put some on the dining room table and living room table, giving the apartment a gentle glow. She also put some candles in the bedroom, hoping it would help set the mood. Buffy grabbed a bottle of wine and opened it up, pouring herself a glass. ‘A little bit of liquid courage, or whatever they say.’ she thought as she downed the wine. Buffy went into the bedroom and changed out of her casual clothes into Spike’s fantasy outfit. She pulled on a red thong and the red see-through nightie with white fur along the low neckline. She pulled on a pair of red stiletto heels and a terry cloth robe to hide her outfit.

Buffy looked at herself in the mirror. ‘I can do this. I can be seductive. This is what Spike wants and I can do this.’ she thought. Then she heard the knock she had been waiting for. ‘Oh god. I can’t do this!!!’ She took a big breath and walked to the door. She opened it quickly and leaned up against the door.

“Come in, Spike. I’ve been waiting.” she said huskily as she closed the door behind her. She walked around where Spike stood, to pour them both a glass of wine. “Care for some wine?”

“Love some.” he said taking the glass from Buffy. “The apartment looks great, luv. But...” he stopped and looked straight into her eyes, while cupping her cheek. “I don’t want you to act. I love the fact that you would do this for me, but I want you, not something you think I want.”

Buffy blushed and looked away. “I just thought...” she started but was cut off when Spike’s lips brushed against hers. As the kiss grew more intense, Buffy’s confidence grew as well. Buffy pulled back and smiled at the look on Spike’s face. She pulled Spike down enough to whisper in his ear. “Go to the bedroom. Lay down on the bed and relax.” Spike simply nodded and walked into the bedroom.

Buffy walked over to the stereo and grabbed a CD that she had picked out with Anya, it was Christmas songs played by jazz artists. She put the CD on and turned up just loud enough to hear it in the bedroom. She walked slowly into the bedroom and stood at the foot of the bed. She slowly removed her robe letting it pool at her feet gently. She began to sway to music that was softly playing in the background. Spike motioned for her to come closer to him. She walked over to him while he stood up, now only wearing a pair of black pants. When she got close enough, Spike pulled her to him and started to sway to the music along with her. He bent down and started to kiss her neck. His hands rubbed up and down her arms, taking the thin straps of her nightie with them. After a few minutes of swaying and kissing, Buffy pulled her arms out of the straps, giving Spike the chance to pull the nightie down her body, leaving her exposed. Spike moaned and turned then around, before moving them to lie down on the bed. Spike started to kiss his way down her body starting at Buffy’s neck. He took his time worshiping her breasts, before moving down again. Soon they were both undressed. Spike kissed her lovingly before thrusting into her. They made love slowly before collapsing onto the bed.

“I love you.”

“God, I love you too, pet. I love the present as well.” he said pulling Buffy into his side.

“Oh no mister. We’re just getting started.” Buffy laughed as she moved to staddle him.

“Give me some time to recover.” he said tickling her sides.

“Never.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Spike, it’s time to wake up.” Buffy sing-songed, as she ran her hand through his curls. Spike groaned. “Spike we need to get up. It’s Christmas Day and we are supposed to be at your parents house in a hour.”

“Don’t wanna wake up... wore out.” Spike mumbled.

“Come on, you big baby. I should be the one complaining about being worn out.” she said rolling out of bed and pulling the cover off of him. “Don’t make me go get water.” she said.

“Alright, I’m up.” he said sitting up in the bed and stretching. “I would be happy to stay in this bed forever. That was the best Christmas present ever, pet.” he said standing and walking to stand behind her. “I need to take a shower.”

“Well, you know where it is.”

“Wanna join me, pet?” he asked kissing her bare shoulder.

“I already took my shower. Plus I thought you were to worn out.”

“Shoulda known you’d use that against me. Alright pet. But if you change your mind...” he trailed off before turning and leaving the bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike and Buffy arrived right on time. Jenny, Joyce and Vivian had already made a quick lunch for the group before starting on Christmas dinner.

“When can we open gifts?” Ethan asked.

“We can start. We just need to check on things as we go along. Who wants to hand out the gifts?” Jenny asked looking around the room for a volunteer. “Well, I guess I’ll do it.” she said taking a seat in the chair closest to the Christmas tree. “To Rupert, From E&V.” she announced and so began the gift giving.

Soon only two gifts were left. Spike and Buffy’s gifts to each other. “Here’s your last gift, Spike. It’s from Buffy.” Jenny said handing Spike a small wrapped gift. Spike unwrapped it quickly and opened the small box he had revealed.

“I know it may seem like a strange gift but...I thought that maybe you’d like to move into the apartment. I mean you practically live there anyway.” she explained while watching him look at the key to her apartment she had given him.

“I...Of course I will.” he said giving her a big hug. All the parents had huge smiles on their faces. “What about Anya?” he asked.

“We talked about it already. She’s okay with it. Plus, I figure they’ll move in together eventually, too.”

“Wow, it’s such a surprise, luv. Your turn. Open your present.” he said looking nervous.

Buffy’s box was about the same size as the one she had given Spike. She unwrapped the gift with shaky hands, revealing a small, plain box.

“It’s beautiful. I’ve never had a locket before.” she said tracing the necklace lightly.

“It’s very special to me. It was Cordy’s. She gave it to me before she died and asked me to give it to the girl I fell in love with. Kinda her way of giving her blessing to the relationship.” Spike said taking the necklace out of the box and putting it on Buffy. Buffy looked over to see Viv and Ethan crying. She leaned over and gave Spike a kiss before walking over and hugging Viv and Ethan.

“She’s here with us in spirit.” Buffy whispered to Viv, who just hugged Buffy tighter. “Now, let’s get this mess cleaned up.”

“Come on luv. Let’s go get some bags.” Spike said taking her hand and dragging her into the garage. As soon as the door shut, Spike began kissing her. “Thanks for comforting Viv. It’s still hard for her. I love you, pet.”

“I love you too Spike.” she said pulling away and grabbing the bags. “Oh and since I didn’t say it this morning, Merry Christmas, Spike.”

“Merry Christmas, luv.”
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A/N: Please review me. Love them.

A/N: This chapter is for Marstersgirl13, thanks for the review. Thanks everyone for the reviews. I thrive on them.
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The day after Christmas Spike moved his all stuff into ‘their’ apartment. Luckily, since Spike wasn’t much of a packrat, the only things he really brought into the apartment was a television and his clothes, everything else was being held in storage. In a strange turn of events, the apartment was soon going to be down one tenant, since Xander had asked Anya to move in with him. They had agreed that she’d stay there until after the New Years Party. Buffy wasn’t sure what she’d do with the extra room, but thought about making it into an office.

The day of the party, Buffy sat at the bar making last minute decorating decisions. Like always, everyone had agreed to help decorate the bar, mostly with streamers and confetti.

“I wanna hang a disco ball up. Just for tonight though. You think I could do that?” Buffy asked.

“I’m sure it could be arranged, pet.” Spike said giving her a kiss on her forehead.

“Goody. So are your parents coming tonight?” Buffy asked finally taking her mind off the details.

“Nah, they have their own parties to attend. Viv and Da, have a New Year’s Party every year for their clients and buyers. Giles and Mum go to the faculty one they have on the campus. What ‘bout Joyce? She gonna come?”

“Yeah, she said she didn’t want to stay alone on New Years, so why not come to her daughter’s bar and have some fun. God knows, she needs it.” Buffy laughed. She looked around the bar. “It’s gonna be packed tonight. I really should have a meeting with everyone before we open.” Buffy looked down at her watch then through the bar, that still serving coffee customers. “Listen up everyone. The coffeehouse closes in 5 minutes.” she announced loudly.

“Ms. Summers, we need to run some music through the sound system, you know, a sound check.” said the man who was setting up the dj station for the night.

“Can you wait just a couple more minutes, so I can clear out the place.” she asked kindly. The man nodded and went back to working on the system. After the couple of minutes she had asked for, Buffy cleared her throat loudly. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the coffeehouse is now closed. Thank you all for coming in today, and please come to the New Years Party we’re throwing tonight. It’s gonna be great.” she called. When the last customer had finally left, Buffy locked the door, pulled the curtains, and turned to the staff.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Buffy.”

“Hey mom. Didn’t know when you were gonna show?” Buffy said hugging her mom.

“Thought I’d get here before the big crowd arrived. Find a seat and just stay there.” Joyce laughed.

“Ms. Summers, the system is working great now. I’ll be staying in the bar tonight to make sure nothing goes wrong. The DJ should be here in a couple of minutes.” the man that was setting up interrupted.

“That’s great. Oh!!! Ted, this is Joyce, my mom. Mom this is Ted.” Buffy said introducing them as they shook hands.

“It’s nice to meet you. Buffy, I’m gonna go find a table to sit at.” Joyce said handing Buffy her purse to put behind the bar.

“I think I’ll do the same.” Ted said.

“Well, let me go ahead and get you something to drink.” Buffy said. Joyce and Ted nodded and gave her their favorites. Buffy gave them both a smile and a nod. “I’ll bring them to ya, just go have a seat where you like.” she said as she turned to start their drinks. Buffy finished the drinks quickly and walked across the room to hand the two their drinks, taking note that they had taken seats on opposite sides of the room. “Here ya go mom. Drink up and have a good time tonight. You deserve it.” Buffy said, giving Joyce her drink and a kiss on the cheek before walking over to Ted. “Hey Ted, thanks for setting up the sound system tonight. Just holler if you want anything else.” Ted just nodded before taking a swig of his drink.

Buffy walked over to where everyone had congregated around the bar. “Okay everybody, I know this is the first time I’ve done this, but I want everyone to pick a partner. You’re to keep an eye on each other. We have Wes and Gunn, and they do a great job...” everyone started to clap at this, causing the two men to duck there heads slightly embarrassed. “...but tonight is going to be unlike anything we’ve dealt with since we opened. I want to make sure everyone stays safe, but please have fun tonight. ‘kay everyone ready?” she asked looking around at everyone. When everyone had chosen their ‘partner’, they all nodded. “Alright, time to open the doors.” she said excitedly as everyone took their places.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m comin’ up so you better get this party started...” Buffy sang as she quickly popped the top off a beer. She was running on pure adrenaline. As soon as she opened the door people piled into the bar and she had yet to take a break.

“Pet, I need to go up and get a bottle. Can you please make a 7&7 for Red’s order?” Spike asked.

“Um, yeah...can you grab some Champagne while you’re up there?” she asked as he started to climb the ladder. Buffy made the drink and sat it on the bar for Willow to pick up. Spike climbed down the ladder with a bag full of bottles. He instantly poured two glasses of wine and opened a beer and sat them next to the 7&7 Buffy had made.

“Goodness can you believe how busy we are tonight? And all the people are happy. I haven’t talked to one depressed person tonight.” Willow said as she put the drinks on her tray.

“I know what you mean. Wills, it’s almost time to count down.” Buffy said helping Spike pop the corks on the many bottles of Champagne. “We need to start handing out the glasses of Champagne to anybody who wants one.” Willow nodded and walked to deliver her drinks. “Spike, can you and Xander handle the Champagne?”

“Yeah, pet. Where you going?”

“I need to go talk to the dj.” she said as she finished pouring her bottle.

Spike motioned for Xander to start to help him, while keeping an eye on Buffy. By the time Buffy came back, the two men had poured almost all the bottles of Champagne. “What was that about, luv.”

“I just....” she started but was interrupted by the dj.

“Okay, everybody. It’s almost that time. So everyone find your special someone or, if you didn’t come with anyone, find a stranger and get to know them a little. Waitresses are going to be coming around with glasses of Champagne and noise makers. Grab some, and get ready to ring in a new year.”

“...just went to tell him to make an announcement.” she said helping the other two put glasses of Champagne on the bar for the waitresses to pick up. It didn’t take long for everyone in the bar to get their glasses and noise makers. She looked at the small clock she had set behind the counter and then looked over at the dj and gave him a nod.

“Okay, it time. 10...” he started and everyone joined in. “9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!” everyone yelled while the dj put on Auld Ange Sine.

Spike grabbed Buffy around the waist and pulled her to him tightly. “Happy New Year, pet.” he said before kissing her soundly.

“Happy New Year, Spike.”

“Um, luv, isn’t that your mum?” Spike said looking somewhere above her head.

Buffy spun around to see her mother kissing non other than Ted, the sound man. “Oh!!! Well... I did tell her to have fun tonight.”

“That she is, pet.” he said before spinning her back around and resuming to kiss her. All the sudden they heard cheering coming from all around. They both looked up to see what was going on. In the middle of the room, a man was down on one knee in front of a shocked looking woman. The woman suddenly started to cry and gave the man a nod.

“Looks like it’ll truly be a happy new year for them.” she said leaning back into his embrace.

“And a lot of others, pet.” he said nodding towards her mother. “And us.” he said giving her a kiss on her temple.
________________________________________________________

A/N: Please review...like it...hate it. tell me. I love them all.

The day after the New Years Eve party, Buffy gave everyone the day off so they could recover from their busy night. It also gave Anya and Buffy the chance to pack Anya’s things so she could move into Xander’s apartment.

“God, Anya, I could swear that you didn’t have this much stuff when you moved in here.” Buffy said looking at the many labeled boxes stacked by the front door.

“Oh, I didn’t. Some of this stuff is Xander from when he would spend the night with me.” Anya said picking up a blue flannel shirt. “You know, I’m gonna miss living here. I know I didn’t live here for very long, but we had fun together.” Buffy nodded, while Anya continued. “But hey, look on the bright side, now you can be as loud as you want to when your having sex with Spike.”

Buffy laughed. “Leave it you to have your bright side be about sex. But yeah, your right. We did have fun. You’ll have to come over every once in a while so we can have a girls night in. Talk about our men.”

“Hey now, luv. I’d rather you not talk about me. Especially when it comes to our sex life.” Spike said, coming out of the bedroom they shared, after taking a shower. Spike and Xander had agreed to carry all the boxes to and from the car, if the girls packed them.

“Please, like I could ever say anything bad when it comes to you and me.” Buffy said raising up to kiss him gently.

“Hey guys. Hey Ahn.” Xander said as he walked into the apartment unannounced and kissed Anya the same way Spike kissed Buffy. “So, you done packing? I really want to get these boxes to the car and to our apartment. God that sounds so strange. Our apartment. The Harris - Jenkins household. It’s gonna take a while to get used to.” Xander said shaking his head and bending down to pick up one of the boxes. Spike followed suit and picked up a box as well, before they both walked out the door. Soon all the boxes were out of the apartment leaving only Buffy and Anya.

“Well, I guess this is it. You are officially my ex-roommate.” Buffy said with a sad smile. The two women hugged each other quickly, before Buffy spoke again. “Want something to drink before you go?”

“Sure, I could use a beer right now.” Anya said slumping down into the couch.

“Me too.” Both men said as they walked through the door, slightly sweating from the lifting. Buffy nodded and went into the kitchen to get the beer, when the phone suddenly rang.

“Hello?....Oh, hey!!...Um, yeah, hold on just a minute.” Buffy said. “Spike, Phone!!” Buffy yelled to the other room. Spike came into the kitchen as Buffy was going into the living room with the beers, giving him some privacy. Spike came into the living room a few minutes later.

“So, what did she have to say?” Buffy asked, feeling like being nosey.

“Who? Who was on the phone?” Anya looked confused.

“It was Fred. So what did she tell you?” Buffy asked again.

“Seems she decided she wanted to let us in on her little surprise. Wesley and Fred are getting married. They’re in Las Vegas right now at a little chapel, about to become husband and wife.” Spike said in slight shock.

“WHAT!?! When did they decide to do this?” Buffy asked, not angry, but completely shocked.

“Apparently they decided after seeing that couple get engaged last night.” Spike said plopping down next to Buffy on the couch.

They all sat there for a couple of minutes before Buffy spoke again. “Did she say what time the ceremony was?”

“Um, yeah. She said in an hour. We won’t have time to make it there, luv.” Spike said.

“Oh, well. I’ll just call her back then. I’ll be a few minutes.” Buffy said hopping off the couch and going to the nearest phone. She dialed Fred’s cell phone hoping she hadn’t turned it off. After a couple of rings, Fred finally picked up. “Hey Fred!!!” she said excitedly.

“Hey Buffy. Sorry I didn’t talk more earlier. I know it must me a shock.” Fred said shyly.

“It is. I wish we all could have known so we could be there, but I’m very happy for you. I just called to congratulate you. I also wanted to tell you that I’m giving you and Wesley a week off so you can have an appropriate honeymoon.” Buffy said with a happy smile.

“Oh my goodness, Buffy. You’re the greatest. I don’t think I can thank you enough.” Fred cried.

“Oh honey, it’s nothing. I just want you and Wesley to be happy. Just make sure someone videos the wedding so we can all see it when you get back.”

“Of course.” was all Fred said.

“I’m gonna let you go. Would you like to speak to Anya or Xander? They’re both here.” Soon everyone had given Fred and Wesley their best wishes and hung up.

“Well, I guess it’s time for us to be leaving too now.” Anya said standing at the door.

“Okay, well don’t forget about that girl’s night in.” Buffy said with a smile.

“Oh I won’t.” Anya said giving Buffy another hug before pulling away. “Come on Xander. Let’s go have sex in our apartment.” Anya said dragging him out the door.

Spike walked over to Buffy slowly. “Come on Buffy, let’s make love in our apartment.” Spike said throwing Buffy over his shoulder and carrying her into the bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, Buffy was having dinner with her mother at the local diner. “I still can’t believe that Fred and Wesley were so spontaneous. They always seemed to be the type that would plan something like that, ya know.” Buffy said.

“Well you’ve told me before that you could tell there was something between them from the beginning. As long as they’re happy, I think it great.” Joyce said.

“Speaking of happy, I saw you at the midnight smooching with Ted. So what’s the deal between you two?”

“Oh, Buffy. He came over and started to talk to me because he said I looked lonely. When midnight came, it just seemed natural to kiss him. He’s so sweet. He’s called me earlier today and asked me on a date. We talked for a couple of hours. We’re having dinner tomorrow night. Just talking to him on the phone makes me happy.” Joyce said with a big smile.

“I’m happy for you mom. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. But, back to Fred and Wesley. I thought about throwing a belated wedding shower for them in a couple of weeks, maybe the Monday after they come back. I don’t know if I should surprise them or not.”

“That’s a great idea. You should tell them you want to throw them a party, that way Fred can have a say. Maybe the week after you were planning to have it, so you’ll have enough time.” Joyce said happy to help her daughter out. Then she frowned. “Buffy? What about your birthday? What are you gonna do for your birthday?”

“Nothing. I don’t want anyone making a big deal about my birthday. Spike knows when it is and that’s the only person that I want to know. We know how bad my birthdays always turn out. Me and Spike will spend the day together for my birthday, then that night we can have the wedding shower.” Buffy explained.

Bad issues always came up on Buffy’s birthday. She found out her father was leaving on her birthday, her parent’s divorce became final the same day, the next year. Her grandmother became ill on her birthday. Joyce completely understood. “Okay, Buffy.” was all Joyce could say.

“Thanks mom. So, what do you usually have at a wedding shower?” Buffy asked, changing the subject. The rest of dinner Joyce filled Buffy in on all the things that went on at the wedding showers she’d been to. When they were done with dinner Joyce gave her daughter a hug before heading to her car. Once in her car, Joyce dug her phone out of her purse.

“Spike, honey? I have to speak quickly. I have an idea.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 weeks later....

It was the day of the party, which also happened to be Buffy’s birthday. Spike had made Buffy breakfast in bed, to start off what she hoped would be a good birthday for once. Spike had pampered Buffy the entire day while Buffy filled him in on the final details of the wedding shower.

“So we decided to rent a big screen TV and hook up the dvd player to it, so we could all watch the wedding video. It was Willow and Tara’s idea to do it. I hope everyone shows up. Mom’s supposed to showing up with Ted and...oh, that feel’s good.” Buffy moaned.

Spike continued to work the muscles of her back and neck, moving slowly and gently. “Pet, quit worrying about it. Everyone will show. Da and Viv are driving in today and staying with mum and Giles. Said they wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Great, I’ll just relax and concentrate on your hands. Mmm...you really know what you’re doing.” Buffy sighed.

“Is there anything else you need? Today, I’m at your service.”

Buffy rolled over and sat up. “I need you.” Buffy said before pulling him down on top of her and kissing him senseless. “You’ve made this my best birthday ever.” she whispered as she pulled off his shirt and started working pulling down his track pants. Spike started laugh, when she made frustrated sounds causing him to help her out. Soon they were both naked, simply touching, whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears. They made love the rest of the afternoon. “Spike, we should get dressed and go downstairs. The people should be here soon.”

“I’ll take a quick shower and go downstairs, get everything set up. I’ll take care of everything. You just take your time and stay relaxed, ‘kay luv?” he said giving her a kiss and rolling out bed.

“Spike!! Thank you.” she said sweetly

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey Red. Thanks for bringing the TV. Is it all set up?” Spike asked Willow as soon as he walked downstairs.

“Yeah, Xander hooked up the dvd player and Ted set up the sound system. Does she know anything’s going on?”

“Nah, she seemed relaxed and happy when I left. Hopefully she’ll stay that way. Hey Fred. Did ya bring the video?” Spike asked walking over to where Fred sat with Wesley.

“Yeah. I looks great. I’m really excited. We went and got the cakes too. I think this is a great idea. She’ll be really surprised.”

“Spike, I’m happy you invited us.” Viv said as she gave her stepson a hug.

“Of course we invited you. You all mean a lot to Buffy, plus this is Fred and Wesley’s wedding shower. Let’s just hope she’s surprised.” Spike said. Spike made his way through the bar talking to everyone making sure they all knew what was going on.

Suddenly everyone got very quiet when they heard the sound of high heels coming down the stairs. As soon as Buffy rounded the corner, everyone shouted out ‘Happy Birthday”. Joyce chose that moment to snap a picture of Buffy’s surprised expression.

“What’s going on? I thought...” Buffy started but didn’t know how to end that sentence.

“Joyce and Spike were planning something special for your birthday. We overheard them talking one day, so we all pitched in. You’ve done so much for all of us. We just wanted to do something special for you too.” Willow said.

Buffy looked around at everyone, with tears in her eyes. “Thank you all, so much.” she said before starting to give everyone hugs.

“Okay, everyone. Wesley and I have something to show everyone. I know we said we were going to show the wedding video, but everyone came together to make this video.” Fred said walking over to the TV. Soon the TV was filled with images of young Buffy, obviously from her mother, and other pictures of her and co-workers. Each person had made a small confessional about a special time or just thoughts about Buffy. When the film finally ended everyone clapped as Willow and Tara lit the candles on Buffy’s birthday cake that sat next to Fred and Wesley’s belated wedding cake.

Spike led Buffy over to the bar to blow out her candles. “Go ahead, luv. Make a wish.” he whispered. Buffy smiled and closed her eyes for a second before blowing out the candles.

“Great let’s have some cake. Oh and don’t forget about the finger food we bought too.” Anya said placing food on her plate.

The party along great. Everyone watched Fred and Wesley’s wedding video and dancing to songs that Ted’s dj was playing.

When everyone was at their seats talking, Spike grabbed Buffy’s hand and led her to the dance floor. “Remember that whole thing with Pike and you two having a song, pet?” Buffy nodded. “Well, I thought we should have a song too.” he said as the slow song began to play.

I've been searching a long time
For someone exactly like you
I've been traveling all around the world
Waiting for you to come through.
Someone like you makes itAll worth while
Someone like you keeps me satisfied.
Someone exactly like you.

I've been travellin' a hard road
Lookin' for someone exactly like you
I've been carryin' my heavy load
Waiting for the light to come
Shining through.
Someone like you makes it all worth while
Someone like you keeps me satisfied.
Someone exactly like you.

I've been doin' some soul searching
To find out where you're at
I've been up and down the highway
In all kinds of foreign lands
Someone like you...

I've been all around the world
Marching to the beat of a different drum.
But just lately I have realized
The best is yet to come.
Someone like you makes it all worth while
Someone like you keeps me satisfied
Someone exactly like you.

Buffy was in a slight daze when Spike pulled away from her. “Buffy, pet...” she watched as he kneeled on one knee before her. “I love you with everything that I am. We have been through a lot and made it through only stronger. You’re the one I want by my side for the rest of my life. Buffy, will you marry me?” he asked holding, with a shakey hand, an open ring box in front of her. Buffy nodded unable to speak due to shock. She snapped back to reality when everyone started to cheer and ran toward her to congratulate her. Once again she hugged everyone, then walked over to Spike.

“Spike, I need something from upstairs. I’m gonna run up and get it.” she said, running off before he could respond. As soon as she stepped through the door, she began to sob, collapsing on the sofa.

“Buffy? God, luv, what’s wrong?” Spike asked running over to the couch to comfort her.

“I’m scared, Spike. Isn’t a little early to be getting married? We’ve only been together for 3 months.” she said.

“I’ve been planning to ask you to marry me since that night Riley attacked you. I called my father that night and told him I was going to ask you to marry me eventually. Our Thanksgiving vacation, my father gave me my grandmother’s ring to give to you. I asked for your mother’s blessing then as well. So, no, I don’t think it’s too soon.” Buffy had stopped crying to listen to his story. “Look, I’m not asking you to marry me tomorrow, I just want you to know that I’m going to be by your side no matter what.” Buffy launched herself into his arms, peppering his face with kiss, repeating ‘I love you’ over and over again.

“Come on, Future Mrs. William Hart. Let’s get back down to the party.” Spike said dragging a giggling Buffy out the door.

---

The song is "Someone Like You" by Van Morrison.

Two Years Later....

“Our next guest on today’s show is the best selling author of the book ‘Life Behind Bars’ and the co-owner of the most popular in Los Angeles, The L.A. Grind. He and his wife have been voted the best male and female bartenders in California, too. Everyone give it up for Mister William Hart.” the host of a daytime talk show announced.

Spike walked out onto the brightly lit stage, walking with his usual swagger. He looked out at the audience and waved like he’d seen other celebrities do, as he made his way to the sofa next to the host’s desk.

“Welcome to the show William.” the host, Lorne, said.

“Thanks for having me. And please call me Spike.” Spike said as he shook Lorne’s hand.

“Well, Spike, your book has become number one on the Best Seller’s list and critics are giving great reviews, but I have to say you don’t look like the type that would write a book, no offense.” Lorne said.

“None at all, that’s most people’s opinion.” Spike laughed. “I’ve always had a passion for writing and the idea for this book came from things that happened to me in my life. Turns out a lot of people could relate to it.” Spike explained.

“What about your bar, The Grind? It’s the most popular bar in L.A. Do you still work there or are you currently working on another project?” Lorne asked.

“Well, first off, The L.A. Grind is only partially mine. Our friends, Xander and Anya Harris, run and co-own the L.A. Grind , while I still work in the original. My wife, Buffy, still owns the original bar in Sunnydale, where we live with our 3 month old daughter, Cordy” Spike said with a smile.

“Well, your one lucky man Spike. I had the chance to read your book and I have to say that some of the stuff that’s in your book almost sounds like a romance novel. I mean, is it true that you and your wife Buffy, started out hating each other?” Lorne laughed.

“Yeah, it is. Her mother hired me as a bartender before I ever met Buffy. Best thing that ever happened to me. A lot’s happened between us, but it only brought us closer. She’s the love of my life.” Spike answered. Everyone in the audience ‘awwwed’ at that. “Do you mind if I congratulate some people?” he whispered. When Lorne shook his head and gave him the go ahead, he continued. “I’d like to congratulate my friends, Charles Gunn and his girlfriend, Kendra Reynolds, for getting into law school. Everyone at The Grind is very proud of you two.”

“That’s very sweet. And on that note I’d like to persuade everyone to read Spike’s book ‘Life Behind Bars: One Bartender’s Tale’. I’d also recommend making a stop off at either one of the bar’s, The Grind and The L.A. Grind. It was great having you here today Spike. Stay tuned for musical guests, Dingoes Ate My Baby.” Lorne said as the show went to commercial.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh, baby, that was great. You even congratulated Gunn and Kendra.” Buffy said as she watched the show snuggled up in Spike’s arms. “Wasn’t it, sweetie? Didn’t daddy do a good job on Lorne’s show?” she asked the little girl she held in her arms. The baby cooed and giggled a little in response.

“Thanks, luv. The only time I’ve been more nervous than I was up there was when you were having Cordy. Just felt a little out of place.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you did it. You realize how much more publicity this gives your book and the bars. Soon, we’ll be able to set up a college fund for Cordy here.” Buffy said rubbing the tiny babies head, lulling her to sleep. “I’m gonna go put her in her crib.” Buffy said standing gingerly so she wouldn’t wake Cordy and tiptoed into the nursery.

Spike looked around the room at the various picture that were all around the room: the Scoobies at the party 2 year ago; Buffy and Spike on their wedding day on the beach; the family surrounding a new born Cordelia Laine Hart in the arms of an exhausted looking Buffy; the newlyweds, Ted and Joyce; and finally everyone at the opening of The L.A. Grind.

“What ya thinkin’ about?” Buffy said leaning over the back of the couch and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“Just lookin’ at the pictures, luv. We’ve been through a lot, ya know. But everything’s had a happy ending. I even got to do the one thing I never thought I’d do. I, William Hart, wrote a book and got it published. I have a beautiful wife and daughter, giving me the family I never though I’d have. I am literally the luckiest man on Earth.” he said standing up and pulling her around the couch to hug her close.

“I guess that makes me the luckiest woman on earth. God, I love you so much.” she said kissing him gently, before walking over to the stereo and turning on the song that was always in the cd player. She walked back into Spike’s arms as they began to sway slightly.

“I love you, too. Now and always.” he whispered into her hair.

I've been all around the world
Marching to the beat of a different drum.
But just lately I have realized
The best is yet to come.
Someone like you makes it all worth while
Someone like you keeps me satisfied
Someone exactly like you.

---

A/N: I would like to thank everyone whose read this story, especially those who’ve reviewed me. I really appreciate all of the encouragement that was given and even the criticism. This is the first story I’ve finished and I grew really attached to it. For those who have read my other WIPs I will start working on those soon. Please give me time. Anyway, once again thanks to everyone for the love and support. ~Jillian~