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Author's Chapter Notes:
I'm still working on the the "Big Bad". Might make it a surprise! Comment please!
Buffy sighed as Spike's voice echoed from the training room. "Okay, now Niblet...this time when you swing, turn your shoulder slightly...Yeah, that's it! Now swing!" She tilted her head as she heard a smack. "Ow! Dawn! Not so hard!"

Smiling, she focused on Giles. "What were you saying Giles?"

Giles sighed and closed his eyes. The tell-tell sign that he was exhausted. Or mentally counting to ten. Buffy wasn't sure which. "As I was saying Buffy, you can't allow Spike to leave any information out. You must find out what he knows and you must do it immediately."

"It's not like I haven't tried Giles! He won't take the money! He said he wants something else."

Giles stared at her. "Like what?"

Buffy pursed her lips and looked down. "I-I'm not sure. He-He wouldn't tell me. He just said..to make it worth his while." Looking away, she awkwardly picked her nails. Talking about Spike made her feel like she was talking to her parents about sex. Which she didn't know why. Spike and sex were two things that didn't mesh in her mind. As of late. When they did, she went shoe shopping and, right now, her credit cards were about maxed.

"Well Buffy all things considered, you could stand to be a little nicer to him. After everything he's done for us. Include him in the group."

Buffy nodded her head absently as she heard Dawn laughing in the back.

"Spike! Oh my God! That tickles!"

"Throw me off Niblet! It's the only way to make it stop!" He laughed right along with her.

"I can't! I-I-" She continued to laugh.

"It won't stop until you make me. Now focus your attention elsewhere and throw me!"

"Oh my God! Spike! Put it away! Buffy will kill you!" Buffy straightened as her name was mentioned. Frowning, she listened harder.

"You have to stop me Pet. Now, throw me!" Buffy turned around as she listened to them struggle.

Marching stoicly to the back, she threw open the door to find Spike on top of Dawn. She was jerking back and forth, but Spike wouldn't let go. He was shirtless and shoeless, his black pants riding low on his hips. Frowning, she saw that he also had his bumpy face going. Curling her lip, she grabbed him by the back of the neck and jerked him up.

"Oi! What's the big idea?!" Shaking his head, he returned to normal.

"What the hell are you doing?" Reaching down, she helped Dawn up.

"Training."

Smacking his arm, she shook her head. "Really? It looked to me like you were trying something else!"

Spike shook his head and went across the room to the punching bag. Giving it a good left hook, he swore and struck it again.

Jerking away from her sister, Dawn glared at her. "Buffy! We were training! What is wrong with you?" Going to Spike, she touched his arm and smiled apologetically.

Frowning, Buffy crossed her arms. "What is going on here? Since when are you and Spike so friendly?"

Spike just looked at her and continued to punch. Dawn glared at her and crossed her arms. "Nothing's going on Buffy. You just never pay attention. Spike and I are friends! You know what that is right? It's where a person likes another person and they talk and get to know one another. Hang out. Eat together. Watch each other's back."

She rolled her eyes. "I know what friends are Dawn."

"Then you should know that we're friends. We have been for a while. While you're out slaying and Mom's at work, Spike is hanging out with me. Did you know that he helps me with my homework? He comes by the house and checks on me, makes sure I've had dinner. He even gave me a birthday present last year! Did you know that?"

"I-Well I-No. Then why was he all bumpy faced? I don't think that's required in training!"

"Maybe because I don't mind when he's all 'bumpy'. He's a vampire, I know that. Vampires tend to be bumpy. Egro bumpy Spike. I've seen it before. It's not that scary."

Spike put an offending hand up. "Hey! I can be scary!"

Dawn shook her head sympathetically. "No. Really not. Sorry." Spike shook his head and punched the bag again. Dawn glared at Buffy and smiled at Spike again. "Not that I'm saying you aren't! It's just...I've known you for a while! You're not scary to me anymore! But believe me, when I first met you, you scared the hell out of me!"

Spike smiled. "Really? I scared you?" Dawn smiled and nodded vigariously. "Well score one for the Big Bad then."

Buffy groaned. Spike had the look of a strutting peacock. "Dawn, don't stroke his ego anymore than you have to. In fact...no stroking at all! Just get your stuff ready. We're leaving."

Dawn pulled a face at Buffy and gave Spike a quick hug. "We'll train more tomorrow right Spike?"

Spike nodded and smiled. "Sure Pet. We'll work on kick combos."

Buffy glared at Spike as Dawn walked out. "Listen Spike, we need to talk about this information you have. How bad is it...or good is this information? How bad is this thing coming after me?"

Spike walked to the pomell and grabbed his shirt off the handles. "Well, you see Slayer, that's the thing. This demon thing can be real nasty. It could tear a little girl like Dawn to pieces. Now you...you might be able to handle it. You just have to pay me the right price."

Buffy shifted uncomforably and bit her lip. "What..what kind of payment?"

Spike tilted his head to the side and smiled. "I haven't quite figured that out yet. But I know that nine-out-of-ten you'll object."

Buffy watched as Spike got dressed. She cringed a little as she recalled him half-naked on her sister. "Spike...is there...is something going on between you and Dawn?"

Spike stared at her in astonishment. "You've got to be joking! Niblet! She's all of a child to me! And you heard her! We're friends!"

"I know. I heard her. But she is young and you're...You. She could develop a case of puppy love and I don't want her to be disappointed or hurt."

Spike smirked. "Fancy me do you?"

Buffy curled up her nose. "God no! But you're old enough to be her great-great-"

Spike held up his hand. "Don't say grandfather!"

Grabbing his shoes he approached Buffy. Stopping a hand width apart, he stared down at her. "Here's the thing you need to realize here luv. Niblet and I have had this talk. We've had lots of talks. In-depth and what-have-you. There's more than just age between us than you realize. So when you make the gross assumption that something's going on, it just goes to show that you really don't know either one of us at all. Dawn may be your little sister but she's a growing girl and there's some things she can't talk to you or Mum about. The Scoob's don't understand her because they also see her as your little sis."

"And you don't?" She rolled her eyes.

He frowned. "No, I don't. To me she's a girl who wanted a friend. I can talk to her and she can talk to me. Did you know that she likes old movies? Or that she likes rock 'n roll? I'll bet you didn't. Did you also know that her favorite subject is history?"

Spike nodded as her gaze went off to the left.

"That's what I thought. Here's a little advice Slayer: Don't jump to the conclusion when you don't know the whole story. That goes for Dawnie and myself. You think you might know me but you don't. You think of me as a monster when you forget that I used to be a man. Your sister didn't forget that. So that's how she treats me. And you treat her like a child when she's not."

"She is a child!"

He shook his head. "She's the same age as you when you started this. You forget that. She's more grown-up than you think but you refuse to realize it. If you'd actually look at her as a girl instead of your lil' sis you might notice some changes in her that you've decided to overlook."

Buffy looked away, feeling ashamed as she realized that he was right.

"Buffy! Are we going or what?" yelled Dawn.

"Coming!" Buffy looked at Spike and sighed. "I'm sorry I-"

Spike put up his hand as he walked away from her towards the back door. "Save it. I've got to go. Tell your mum I'll swing by tomorrow night, bring that book she wanted."

"Book? What book?"

Spike smiled. "Guess that's another thing you'll have to figure out huh Slayer?"

Buffy stared dumbfounded as Spike shut the door.





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