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Chapter 9:

Buffy just wanted to keep touching him. This was the first time she'd gone so head over heels for anyone, and she was on such a high from what had just happened that she almost couldn't pour the coffee straight. She had to keep looking at him to make sure he wasn't going to disappear. He was so darned sexy, sitting there, with his hair all messed up, elbows on the table, chin in his hands, watching her as she pottered around. She wanted to sit on his lap, get him to kiss her again, but some instinct was telling her to back off, just a little. Give him space. He was right, if they were going to do this, and they already had really, then it had to be done right. He owed Drusilla that much.

"So, how do think Xan and Willow are getting on?" She handed him a coffee and sat down opposite him.

"Thanks," he put it down in front of him, and stared into it. "Knowing Xander, they'll be watching the next film by now. He likes to talk big when it comes to women, but they actually terrify him. You wouldn't believe some of the dates he's been on."

"I would actually."

Spike laughed, "Oh yeah, forgot you've been in the love machine."

"The what?"

"The Mini," Spike looked pensive for a moment. "He's a good friend."

"And you think that when he finds out about us, he'll freak?"

"Yeah, I don't know. Maybe." He extended his hand across the table, and covered hers. "What are we doing, Buffy?"

"Being happy." She looked straight at him, her gaze unwavering. "We deserve it, remember?" Her other hand covered his. "And I've never been so sure about anything." Her heart gave a little lurch. "You're not changing your mind are you?"

"God no Buffy. Do you think I'd start this and walk away? But you will be. Come the end of the year, you're back to the States aren't you?"

Buffy didn't know what to say. Yes, she was going home. Everything she knew was there, her dad was waiting for her, her future was waiting for her, and until now it hadn't included this handsome, utterly irresistible man who was sitting opposite her. She didn't want to deal with anything past that right now. "Are you hungry Spike?" She patted his hand, let it go and pushed her chair back. "Because I promised you food."

He seemed relieved at the subject change and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. "Yeah, suddenly I'm ravenous."

"You are?" Buffy walked slowly around the table, and stopped in front of him. "Well, we'd better do something about that, hadn't we?"

"Oh yeah?"

She saw him swallow hard as she placed her hands on her hips and leaned towards him. "Chinese or Indian?"

"What?"

"Chinese or Indian? Food." She shimmied past him to the kitchen counter, and picked up the take-away flyers. "Got these through the door. It says they'll deliver."

He was up like a shot, standing behind her, arms around her waist, whispering in her ear. "Gotta better idea."

"Really?" She tried to play it cool, but she couldn't stop the little shiver that ran down her spine as his warm breath tickled her ear.

"Fish and chips."

He made it sound so sexy. "What did you say Spike?" she asked in an innocent tone.

He leaned in even closer so that his lips were touching her ear. "Fish and chips." He finished the words on a kiss. Fish and chips as foreplay, that's a new one, she thought. He gave her earlobe a nibble before taking hold of her hand. "Come on, grab a coat and we'll walk out to the chippie. Then you can tick it off your list of things to do while you're in England."

She gave him her best pouty look. "Walk. I'm American, we don't do walking."

"You do now love. Another great British tradition. Do you think we ought to disturb those two in there?"

Buffy thought for a moment. "They might wonder where we've gone. Hang on a minute." She tiptoed out of the kitchen followed by a very amused Spike, and leaned close to the television room door. "Can't hear anything," she whispered. "Do you think they're...?"

"Just call through the door," Spike was whispering, too. "Never known Xan to refuse fish and chips."

Buffy tried a little knock, which was greeted by the sound of a flurry of movements from inside the room. She stifled a giggle. "Going out for fish and chips, do you want some?"

"Yes please." "Okay." Xander and Willow both spoke at once.

"No don't come out, we're going now." She giggled again as Spike started nibbling the back of her neck. "We'll be gone..." she looked at Spike.

"Half an hour," he finished for her. "We'll take the scenic route."

"Okay. Just gotta," she pointed to the bathroom.

He nodded, "I'll get my coat."

Buffy shut the bathroom door and leaned against it. What a night. Incredible didn't begin to cover it. Too good to be true? She banished the thought as soon as it came. And America suddenly seemed like a very long way away indeed.


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Spike put on his coat, and felt in his pocket for his phone. You have one new message... He put the phone to his ear and listened.

"Hey Spikey, missed you tonight baby. Sorry I was such a bitch, earlier. Don't know what's wrong with me these days. Call me. Please. Love you."

Spike lowered the phone and stared at it. Then he flipped it closed, and pocketed it. Hell, what was he doing? He tried for a bright smile as Buffy came out of the bathroom, but it wouldn't come. First thing tomorrow morning, he'd go and see Dru and sort things out. Only it wasn't going to be that easy, was it? You didn't end a two year relationship just like that, even though it was time.

He watched her slip into her jacket and they stepped outside.

"Oh crap, it's raining." Buffy rushed back into the porch. "I can't walk in the rain - my hair."

"Will get wet, rain does that." He held out his hand. "Come on, it's not far."

Buffy backed up further, and held up her hands. "Sorry, no can do. You've seen workout Buffy, but I'm not ready for you to see frizzy-hair Buffy."

"Women!" He rolled his eyes heavenward, and reached in his pocket. "Okay, okay, stop with the pathetic look, I'll drive us."

Buffy skipped down the steps, brightening considerably. "Shall we take my car?"

"No, we'll go in mine, jump in.

Buffy climbed in beside him. "Sorry about this, always had this thing about the rain. She clicked her seat-belt. I know it's silly, but It's just there. No idea where it came from. "How about you?"

Spike backed the car off the drive. "How about me, what?"

"Phobias, irrational fears of hedgehogs, that sort of thing." She was gently teasing. "There must be something."

"Hospitals." He turned the car onto the main road out of the housing estate.

"Oh, with the cut? But it's pretty normal to be scared of hospitals."

Spike turned the car on to the main road. They had half an hour to kill, so he reckoned they didn't have to go straight to the shop. And just the mention of hospitals was turning his insides to jelly. He shouldn't have said it. "So, what does your dad do? For a living, I mean?"

Buffy looked a bit confused at the abrupt change of subject, but thankfully, she let it go. "Property mainly. Owns a couple of high -rises here and there, your's?"

"Foreign correspondent, for the BBC. Don't see much of him, never did."

"Oh."

They lapsed into silence. Spike sneaked little glances at Buffy as he drove, and he found himself going all warm and fuzzy inside. There was so much he didn't know about her, yet he felt so comfortable with her. And any minute now, he was going to start spouting poetry. Only one place to go when he felt like this. He indicated right, instead of left and headed out of town.


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Buffy suspected they weren't going straight to the chip shop, in fact they'd already passed two. She snuggled back into her seat and let him take her. She even resisted the urge to ask him where they were going, and that wasn't like her at all. Normally she'd want to be in charge, to know all the details, so she could wear the right clothes, serve the right wine, that sort of thing. It was a nice feeling, being with someone you trusted enough to let them take over. After a few minutes the houses thinned out, and they were in the countryside.

Spike turned the car into a narrow country lane. "Not going to ask where we're going then?"

"Nope." Buffy pushed in the tape that was sticking out of the machine and jumped as the unfamiliar, and very loud music blared out.

"I might be kidnapping you."

"That'd be nice." Buffy hugged herself. That would be very nice.

The car stopped. "Okay, we're here." He reached into the glove-box and pulled out a small flashlight, then he swung his door open. "Wanted to show you something."

Buffy opened her door, and looked out in dismay at the still-falling rain. It would be churlish to refuse to go, she really did want to see this whatever-it-was.

Spike looked up and realised what was wrong. "You really that scared of a bit of rain?" He took off his coat and put it over his head. "Here, get under, this'll only take a few minutes, it's over there."

It was a little stone building, sitting in the middle of a field, much like a very small church. Buffy stepped gingerly out of the car, cringing as her trainers sank into the muddy ground. She ducked under his coat. "What is it Spike?"

They ran the few yards to the building, and Spike pushed open the wooden door. "It's an old well-house, supposed to date back to medieval times. Just wait a moment for your eyes to adjust." He pulled the coat off their heads and shrugged back into it. "I love this place."

The door closed behind them and they stood in the cold, dark room in silence. A weak shaft of light was coming in from a hole in the roof, casting the carved stone features lining the walls into strange shadows. Buffy could hear running water coming from somewhere, but she couldn't make out where. She shivered in the damp air and moved in closer to Spike. He opened his coat so she could snuggle up to him. It was a strange feeling. As if time had stopped and they were suddenly in a world all of their own. Just the sound of their breathing, and the hypnotic trickling of the water. She tightened her arms around him and he rested his head on the top of hers. It was exactly what they needed. Time out from the emotional roller coaster they had both been on for the last few hours. Her breathing relaxed as she leaned against him, listening to his steady heartbeat and feeling utterly at peace.

"Thank you Spike."

"Knew you'd like it. I come here when I need a bit of time out. Reckoned we needed that tonight."

She nodded. "Reckon so."

They stood silently for a few more moments, and then he fished the flashlight out of his pocket. "Look at this."

It was the source of the water. A lion's head carved into the stone with water coming out of his mouth and cascading into a stone trough. The stone was well-worn. It all looked very old.

"It's a natural spring. Supposed to have healing properties or something. That's why I only come here at night. Place is heaving during the day." He swung the flashlight round to reveal a shelf covered in little straw dolls. "Corn dollies. Wiccans tend to use this place for stuff."

Buffy was entranced. Nobody had ever taken her anywhere like this before. It was a secret, magical place, and she knew she would remember this night for the rest of her life. She wouldn't have been surprised if fairies had appeared and danced for them.

"Kiss me Spike."

He turned, and leaned towards her. "Always happy to oblige, my fairy princess."

God, he was reading her mind now. She went on tiptoe to greet his mouth with hers and they kissed until they were both breathless with need. His warm hands on her waist, moving slowly upwards until his thumbs were grazing the undersides of her breasts. Hers winding behind his back, sliding against the cool cotton of his shirt. Reluctantly pulling apart as they realised they had to go back to the real world.

As they walked back to the car, her breasts still tingling from his touch, Buffy offered up a silent prayer of thanks to whatever beings protected this place. Whatever happened in the future, she'd always have this to remember him by.





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