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Spike shifted a bit on the couch feeling rather uncomfortable under the Slayer’s glare, not that she hadn’t glared at him many times before, but this time was different. He couldn’t say he had expected her to accept him with open arms when he had made his little announcement, but still explaining the situation to the real Slayer wasn’t nearly as easy as he had rehearsed back in his crypt.

“Well,” he began slowly not rather to blurt it all out or give her the long version. He finally decided on the latter not wanting this new version of his life to begin with any secrets. “It happened right after you left my crypt, after you said you couldn’t love me…”
“Would you keep your voice down!” Buffy hissed. She could still hear Dawn moving things about in the kitchen, and she knew her sister well enough to know that even though she was making it sound like she was keeping herself busy in there, she was also straining to hear the least little bit of information coming out of the living room.

“I think it’s a little too late for that love,” he gave her a small smile. “The cat’s pretty much out of the bag.”

“Don’t remind me,” she sighed her eyes rolling towards the ceiling. “I’m already working on a passable excuse, but you don’t need to fuel the fire any more than you already have!”

“She’s going to know the whole story eventually,” he added. “They all will. I think they’re going to notice me walking around in the daytime. Things like that do tend to lead to questions.”

“Questions like how did this happen?” she asked ignoring his last comment. She wasn’t quite ready to deal with the idea of what was going to happen when the Scoobies found out about the situation. Finally, she heard the door in the kitchen close as her sister left, and they could finally speak freely. “Halfrek’s a vengeance demon, they aren’t really big on returns.”

“She returned everything to normal after your party, didn’t she?” Spike protested.

“Yeah, but that was different. Anya’s her friend…”

“Are you trying to say I can’t have friends?”

“I didn’t say that!” Buffy sighed. The conversation was really going nowhere. It seemed like every conversation they had lately tended to follow that pattern. “You said that she gave back your soul. Why would she do that? I mean how could she return it to you when she had nothing to do with it being taken in the first place?”
“But she did,” he stated simply as if it should be obvious.

“I could have sworn Drusilla had a major hand in it,” Buffy reminded him. “Last time I checked Vengeance Demons didn’t make vampires.”

“Well, no, not in the direct sense anyway,” he agreed, “but in this case she was the cause of it.”

Buffy fought back the urge to throw something at him. There he was sitting on her couch with the sun streaming through the window, and he wanted to play twenty questions. All she had wanted was to get her life back on even ground, and then he had to walk into her home and put yet another kink in it.

“Look Spike, I really don’t have time for this,” she told him through clenched teeth. “If you have a point, would you please just get to it?”

“I’m trying to, luv. This isn’t something you just blurt out.”

“No, not like you just did in front of my sister!”

“Do you want to hear this story or not?” Spike growled finding himself losing his patience rather quickly. It was nice to know that even with the soul things between them hadn’t really changed all that much.

“Fine, spill it,” she answered settling back into her chair for what was shaping up to be a rather long stay.

“Fine,” he snapped back before continuing his story. “Yes, Drusilla was the one who brought me over, but how do you think she found me? I wasn’t exactly a prime candidate for a vampire. Besides we were in London, what were the odds of three vampires just happening to run into one extremely upset poet?”

“So, Halfrek, made sure that it was you that Drusilla found that night?” Buffy concluded. “But why would she bother? Nothing better to do than see you become a vampire, or did you wrong someone and this was the best punishment that she could come up with at the time?”

“I told you I made the wish Slayer,” he growled angry at the interruption. “I was upset that night and wishing there was some way to get even with all those high society snobs for their condescending attitudes.”

“And she made sure that you would be made a vampire, so you could go back and kill everyone,” she jumped in again. “Don’t you think that was just a bit of overkill, pardon the pun, of course.”
He gave a casual shrug of his shoulders. “We are talking vengeance demon here. They aren’t exactly known for their subtle torments. Besides, at the time it did serve the purpose.”

“Okay, so she felt sorry for you, and decided to reverse the wish,” she continued still finding it rather hard to swallow, but considering he was there and not turning into charcoal, it seemed like the most rational explanation they had at the time. “So now that you have a soul, you don’t seem overly remorseful.”

“I’m not Angel, pet,” he said with a sigh. Was it possible that she would ever stop comparing him to that bloody pouf! “I may have a soul now, and I do feel badly for all those people, but it wasn’t me that did all those horrible things. I was in here,” he tapped his temple lightly, “but it was the demon that was in control. For all intensive purposes, William was only a spectator to the blood bath. Besides, at the moment, I have more important things to worry about.”

“Such as?” she prompted. Knowing the answer, but hoping beyond hope that he might have something else on his agenda.

“You know why,” he stated simply, he piercing blue eyes giving her that look that always made her insides feel like they were melting.

“Spike, you know just because you’ve gotten yourself a soul,” she began hesitantly unsure of just how much of the old Spike was left behind, “doesn’t mean I’m instantly going to fall in love with you.”

“Cor, woman,” he growled jumping up from the couch to pace the living room. Buffy was glad she didn’t have a cat or surely he would have kicked it halfway across the room. As if was Dawn’s sneakers sitting at the end of the coffee table ended up being a pretty good target for his anger. “What do I bloody have to do? You say you can’t love me, because I don’t have a soul, not because you think I suck in bed, I have bad table manners…No, the only thing I can get out of you is the bloody soul thing, and now you won’t even give me a chance!”

“I didn’t say that, Spike…”

“So, there is a chance?” he turned to face her. There was a spark of hope in his eyes.

“I didn’t say that either,” she replied feeling a slight tug at her heart when his eyes fell to study the floor. “I’m saying we really don’t have the time to sit here and debate on this! You made a wish…”

“An unwish,” he reminded her.

“Whatever, same difference,” Buffy continued rising from the chair and heading towards the closet to grab her jacket. “Either way, there’s going to be consequences, and I would like to know what I’m dealing with before I end up locked up in the house with an invisible demon looking to kill me.”

“So what do you have in mind, luv?” he asked as he pulled his duster over his shoulders. He hadn’t given up on the whole love issue, but he had decided it was better not to push. He could be patient, at least for a little while.

“Where else?” she sighed. “To the Magick Shop. Anya’s an ex-vengeance demon. I’m sure they don’t take back wishes very often, but she she’s been around for a while. Maybe she will have some information.”





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





Buffy had rushed across town the whole time her eyes scanned the street for any sign of disturbance, but once she reached the Magick Shop she lingered on the sidewalk, hesitant to go inside. She could hear Spike’s labored breathing over her shoulder as he stopped next to her. It was definitely going to take some getting used to, not that she hadn’t heard him breath before, but it was the first time she’d seen him do it because he had to, and only because he actually had to run to keep up with her.

“So, luv,” he asked between gasps for air, “are we going in, or are we going stand out here all day and study the finer points of Sunnydale store front architecture?”

“Please,” she scowled at him, “remind me to laugh when this is over. Good to see Halfrek remembered to return your sense of humor while she was at it!”

Slowly Buffy pushed the door of the Magick Shop open, the sound of the bell above the door grating on her already raw nerves. It took everything in her to take the first step inside the store. Her heart lurched to see all the Scoobies seated at the research table—all save Anya who was at her usual post near the cash register flipping through yet another bride’s magazine. Absently, Buffy wondered if there were any of those left in Sunnydale that the ex-demon hadn’t read. Plastering her most happy fake smile on her lips, she took a deep breath and walked purposely towards the table.

“Hey, Buffy!” Xander was the first to speak as she approached. His smile quickly faded when he caught sight of her companion. “What’s he doing here?”

“Xander, I asked him to come here,” she sighed not surprised by his hostile welcome. His reaction would only have been shocking had he welcomed Spike to the store with open arms.

“Um, Xander,” Tara cut in softly. Buffy was happy to see her there hoping that it might be a sign that she and Willow were going to try an work out their problems, and she reminded herself to tell the Wicca that once they solved her little problem.

“Buffy, he has no right to be here!” Xander continued ranting.

“Xander!” Willow added her objection her brown eyes also focusing on Spike, but rather than echoing the angry glare Xander was throwing him, she looked completely floored.

“He’s just following you around, trying to pretend that he’s changed…”

“Well, actually…” Buffy began her voice shaking a bit.

“Oh, Xander,” Anya flung the magazine down on the counter. “Would you shut up for a minute? I would like to know why Spike can walk around in the daytime!”





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