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Author's Chapter Notes:
Okay, I really, really tried to get another chapter up, but I wasn't home until last night. Sooooo sorry. But a million thank you's to everyone who reviewed! You guys have no idea how much you make me want to keep writing this. :)

Okay, not a lot of spuffy interaction, but enough to see that the relationship/whatever you want to call it, is building. Hope you enjoy. New chapter tomorrow, guys. :)
“Surely you knew. You protect all of them. Is it not your job to know things such as this?”

Buffy stared at the strange woman who was speaking to her, and even though her feet told her to run, and her brain told her to speak, she could do neither.

The creature, because she knew that even though it appeared to be a woman, it was not. And even though Buffy knew something was off about this woman, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Buffy knew that there was some type of disfigurement about this creature, something that made it immediately known that she wasn’t human. But even though it was staring her straight in the face, even though the answer was not hard to see, she couldn’t bring her mind to form why this woman was so different.

The woman, who seemed to be quite pretty, was staring at her with eyes that never once seemed to blink as she waited for an answer. And even though Buffy had no clue what this woman was speaking of, she found herself answering anyway.

“I didn’t know this was coming,” the Slayer finally answered softly. “How could I have?”

“Human,” the woman replied in disgust, as if the very word was a disease. “How could you not have? So clouded by your own repulsive, mortal emotions that you never see the answers right in front of you.” The woman, creature, began to walk around the Slayer in a slow circle, and Buffy noticed that her walk was stiff, cold, always ready for battle. “You should have been shown the way long before. You’ll know soon enough.”

“What-”

“You presume that you can simply speak when I have not willed you to do so?” The woman demanded, barely keeping her hold on calmness. “How clever they must have thought themselves to be,” she said, seeming to completely change direction from her previous speech. “Hiding what is rightfully mine, that which has been mine since before time even began.” She looked to Buffy, tilting her head. “Would you give it back? When time had done what it needed to, would you hand it over?”

“I don’t...”

“Understand,” she finished for her. “Of course you don’t. You’re nothing but a mortal, I should have remembered. Nothing but what you always were.” She turned then, walking a few feet away before suddenly turning back.

Her head tilted and her eyes moved to gaze at Buffy’s stomach. “You would be wise to not let such things happen. Otherwise I would have to take you instead.”

Buffy looked at her confused before looking down at her stomach. She let out a cry of pain at seeing a knife deeply planted into her abdomen. Pulling it out, she watched as the blood-covered metal fell to the ground with wide eyes. She clutched the wound in pain, but quickly looked up when she heard the sounds of a baby crying. However, when she looked up, she was no longer in the empty room with the woman.

She found herself in a dark alley, no baby around, but Spike standing less than ten feet away from her.

“Spike?”

“Damn it,” he said with a sigh, looking at her stomach. “I told you to be careful, Slayer.”

“How did you...” She trailed off. For some reason, she was just noticing that he was a little different. He was still Spike: platinum hair, black clothes...

But now there was a black, leather duster. Something he didn’t own, or at least had never worn before. Why was this even important?

“Buffy?” He called loudly, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked up, and suddenly found the need to squint her eyes. She could see Spike pretty clearly, but there was a blinding light of all different colors surrounding her. It was bright and busy, but yet was calm and quiet. It was peaceful.

What the hell was going on?

“Spike-”

“There isn’t enough time,” he said, sadly shaking his head. Suddenly, he changed topics, looking at her fatal wound and looking on the verge of tears. “I did this.” Looking up, he met her eyes and the most painful sensation swept through her.

With a soft cry, Buffy sat straight up in bed, gasping for breath as she tried to bring herself back into reality. Finally, it sunk in.

Another Slayer dream. The last time she had one of those was a little under a year before. These things never led to anything good.

Not knowing when she’d see Giles, she was determined to put it out of her mind until she did.

-----

“Well, well, well. Look who it is.”

Buffy stopped walking and closed her eyes, hoping to block reality out for a few more moments. Finally, she turned around to face the owner of the voice, her face blank.

Tommy Wells and his group stood less than ten feet away, surrounding one of the trees outside the school. Tommy and his friends were all people that hung out with Faith, and sometimes Spike would join them.

It was the first day back at school. She had just hoped to get there, be practically invisible, and get through the day without any remarks.

But she knew it was only wishful thinking. She had saved the man who murdered a girl. She was the enemy now. At least to them.

“Tommy-”

“Don’t,” he said suddenly, his eyes hardening as he glared at her and took a step forward. “Were you in on it? I knew you never liked Faith, but did you actually just let him kill her?”

Instead of replying, Buffy tried to keep her anger in control, and then turned around and began walking toward the building.

“Hey!” He yelled, but she didn’t stop. She could sense that he wasn’t following her though. “You’re going to pay for letting her die, bitch!”

Keeping her eyes forward, she tried her hardest to ignore the looks she was getting from all around her, but looked up when she sensed someone in particular.

She hesitated for a moment when she found herself only a few feet away from Spike. Their eyes locked for a moment, and she realized she couldn’t read his thoughts. He was usually easy to understand, but now he seemed so empty.

That’s my fault.

Keeping her eyes down, she walked past him and to her first period class.

-----

Lunch was even worse.

The second she walked into the cafeteria, the talking stopped and all eyes were on her. The occasional whisper was heard, but nothing else.

She could only stand there for a minute before finally starting to walk to her table. The glares continued and the noise didn’t get any louder.

“Bloody hell, would you all quit gapin’ and just eat?” Her eyes widened a little at the unexpected voice, and she turned to see Spike just entering the cafeteria. When no one made a noise, still, he let out a frustrated growl, picked up the nearest tray, and threw it into the wall.

Gasps could be heard, and immediately, everyone took their eyes off of the blonde girl and began to eat and talk again.

Spike briefly looked at her before turning around and walking out of the cafeteria.

She thought about going after him, but she realized that, one, that would only lead to badness. And two, she shouldn’t give a crap what he was going through anyway. She’d done her part.

------

He didn’t know where he was headed until he found himself sitting on the bleachers by the field.

As he rested his elbows on his knees, hands folded under his chin, Spike shook with anger as he tried to calm himself.

All day long he had to watch as every bloody member of Sunnydale High gaped at Buffy Summers.

At first, he didn’t want it to bother him. The chit deserved every hateful glare and word that someone could throw at her.

And then, as the day wore on, it did bother him, and he didn’t understand why.

Of course, he figured, it was because of Faith. The more the students stared at Buffy, the longer they kept Faith’s death in the air, which was painful enough. But then that would lead him to thoughts of Dru, which would make his heart ache even more.

So his outburst in the cafeteria had been nothing more than him being irritated that the other students just wouldn’t let it go.

It had nothing to do with the fact that he’d felt sorry for the blonde bitch.

Not at all, he told himself once more.

----

Of course, it’s what she should have expected. Tommy had said she would pay.

So when she was walking from the parking lot, from telling a friend goodbye, to go see Giles, she shouldn’t have been surprised when Tommy and his friends suddenly showed up.

“Look, I don’t have time f-” She didn’t have the chance to get a word out before she felt the sting of his fist connecting with her cheek. Of course, it didn’t hurt much. But it was the fact that she hadn’t quite been expecting it.

“Shut the hell up,” he told her, quickly backing her into a corner, a place she didn’t like to be as his friends surrounded her. “You should die just like she did. Unfortunately for you, I don’t have a gun.”

“Don’t you mean fortunately for me?”

“No,” he replied with a smirk. “Now I get to do it the slow way.”

She probably could have fought him off. That was, if he had been alone. She did after all, have the strength of many men. But that strength didn’t help too much when every single one of his friends found a way to hold her back, each doing all they could to make her helpless.

And the truth was, it was seriously slowing her down.

And each moment that she found herself trapped was enough time for Tommy to hurt her again. And again. His punches weren’t entirely painful, but they were enough to keep her from escaping for the time being.

And suddenly, she found herself free, and Tommy was a few feet away from her.

A few meaning he was more than ten feet back, staring with wide eyes. When Buffy turned to see who had pulled Tommy off, she raised her eyebrow in surprise upon seeing Spike.

“Shouldn’t hit a girl, mate,” he said dangerously, all the emotions of the past few days catching up with him. He went forward, intent on beating the whelp to a bloody pulp. But a small hand on his arm, firmly holding him back made him stop. He looked down at Buffy, his eyes clearly telling her to back off.

“He’s hurting, too, Spike,” she reminded him. “Just...let it go,” she said softly.

He clenched his jaw, pulling his arm away from her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. With a hard glare, he turned from her and angrily walked toward the parking lot to find his car.

Buffy looked over to Tommy, her own glare in place now. “Touch me again and I swear-”

“I get it,” he said quickly. Shaking her head, Buffy walked away.

She had a watcher to talk to.

After all, she needed to know what the riddles in her dream meant.





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