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Buffy closed her bedroom door softly and paused in the hallway. She really didn’t want to go downstairs and face Spike again. She had been stupid to invite him to stay in the first place, but that was already done and no matter how much she wished she could undo it, he was there waiting for her to come downstairs. She could have just stayed in her room and let him find a place to stay for the night, but that would have been childish. She wasn’t twenty years old anymore, and it wasn’t like there was anything between them anymore. Sure, Spike had tossed a few innuendos her way, but that was just him. He always loved to tease her. Even when they had been mortal enemies, he couldn’t resist trying to get under her skin in one way or the other. After all these years, surely the only feeling he had left for her at best was possibly friendship, but at the moment, it wasn’t his feelings that she was worried about.

With a deep sigh, she collected herself and started towards the stairway. Lingering in the hallway hoping that he would go away was just as childish as thinking about hiding in her room all night! The least she could do is go downstairs and tell him where he could sleep, and once she was done being the pleasant hostess, she could run back up to her room and hide. Of course, that brought yet another bothersome thought to mind. Just where was he supposed to stay? He couldn’t sleep on the couch. There was too much of a chance that the light would pour into the room in the morning. There was really only one other option—her mother’s room. It had been where Spike had stayed while he had watched over Dawn while she was “away.” They had blacked out the windows so that it would be safe for him to stay there during the day, and over the years they had never bothered to change the room. It was perfect, well perfect in every way except one. The fact that it was right next to her own room! They would be sleeping with only a wall separating them. There she went again! Like he would be able to reach her through a solid wall, not to mention the fact that he probably had no desire to try in the first place!

Buffy paused at the bottom of the steps and watched Spike who was standing with his back towards the door unpacking a bag he had apparently retrieved from the Desoto while she had been in her room changing. She hadn’t thought she had spent that long in her room, but he had had the time not only to get his things from the car, but also to make a wardrobe change himself. Once again, he was clothed in his trademark black t-shirt and jeans. She had to admit that he didn’t look bad in his usual dark ensemble, but his new look had been extremely appealing—what was she thinking!? She had just been at the top of the stairs debating on ducking back into her room and hiding from him, and now she was standing there checking him out!

Spike turned when she heard her stop at the bottom of the stairs. She had stood there for quite some time. She had tried to sneak down the stairs without him hearing her, and he had to smile to himself as he pretended not to notice her arrival. She was the Slayer, and it appeared that she had seemed to have forgotten that he was a vampire. No matter how lightly she had tried to step he had heard her coming every step of the way! The sight that greeted his eyes when he turned made him stop in his tracks. He would have had to remind himself to breathe, that is if he had been breathing in the first place.

She was wearing a white tank top and a pair of boxer shorts. Definitely not what he had expected her to be wearing. It wasn’t like she had gone out of her way to dress alluringly, but even in a pair of men’s boxer shorts, she was showing far too much skin for him not to notice her. He shook his head in an effort to clear it. Hadn’t he sworn when he had returned to Sunnydale and only a few minutes before when she had headed to her room to change that she wasn’t going to get to him again? This was only a friendly visit. He was there for a few days, and then he would be on his merry way again. He wasn’t going to lay his heart out for her again only to have her grind it under her heel again.

“A little casual for patrol, aren’t we Slayer?” he asked hoping to get the conversation going to give himself something else to concentrate on other than how enticingly shapely her tan legs were.

“I wasn’t planning on patrolling tonight,” she told him sharply. She hadn’t missed the way his eyes had run over her body before he had finally spoke, and she could feel her skin tingle with tiny goosebumps. She only hoped that he hadn’t noticed that she had been staring at him in very much the same way. “Xander already did a quick sweep before the wedding. I thought I might take the night off, considering it’s my sister’s wedding.”

“And Anya has no problem with him running around chasing vamps, what with the little one and all?” he asked his eyes glued to her backside as she walked past him and sat down on the couch. He had promised himself to remember he wasn’t going to be attracted to her again, but she wasn’t looking and wouldn’t notice. So what would it hurt if he enjoyed the view?

“Well, she wasn’t thrilled about it,” she told him as she picked up the remote from the coffee table and flipped on the television. “But considering they do have Joyce, they want her to be safe.”

“So what are the plans for the rest of the evening then?” he asked suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He had expected to go out and chase down a few vamps. Hopefully, they would both come home so exhausted neither of them would have been up to small talk. It wasn’t like he wanted to pick up where they left off. Where they had left off had been a “discussion” on why he couldn’t stay in Sunnydale anymore waiting for her make an admission of her feeling that was never going to come.

“Well, I plan to watch a little television. You can take mom’s room again if you want,” she told him. That had sounded completely rude considering he really hadn’t done anything to warrant it, but hopefully, he would take the hint and leave her alone.

“I’m not really all that tired either,” he informed her and on the inside Buffy rolled her eyes in frustration. “Mind if I join you?”

“If you want,” she told him refusing to take her eyes from the screen as he joined her on the couch.







“Faith’s dead?” Giles repeated into the receiver. This was definitely not what he had expected to hear on Dawn’s wedding night! Surely, Angel must be mistaken. She was in prison, and she was the Slayer. It was one of the safest places for her. It wasn’t like there was a large chance of her running into a vampire or demon behind bars. There had been a few cases of demons turning up in prison, but that was very rare. They were usually extremely weak, hence the fact that the police were able to arrest them in the first place. Thus meaning that they were far from able to take the life of a Slayer. “How could that be?”

“Vampires,” Angel stated simply.

“Vampires?” Giles repeated in disbelief. “Are you sure?” There had been cases of demons in prison, but never a vampire. They could never survive prison life! It wasn’t like there were many jails in the country that would cater to a major sun allergy!

“I think I know a vampire attack when I see one,” Angel snapped. “I’m sorry Giles. I’m angry. This shouldn’t have happened. I don’t know how they managed to get to her, but they must have went to a fair amount of trouble to get access to the prison, and they made no attempt to make it appear that it was anything other than a vampire attack. I thought you and Buffy should know. Whoever they are, they could be headed to Sunnydale.”

“Well, yes, of course, I’ll inform Buffy…”

“Maybe I should come to Sunnydale,” Angel suggested. Faith was dead. There really wasn’t anything left for him to do in Los Angeles. He had failed one Slayer, and he didn’t want to fail another.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Giles told him rubbing his forehead with his thumb and forefinger. “Buffy wouldn’t exactly be overjoyed to see you under the circumstances.”

“Meaning she still hasn’t really forgiven me,” he stated softly.

“Well, not exactly,” Giles agreed.

“If she needs me, you know where I am,” Angel replied and Giles heard the receiver click on the other end of the line.

Who said a vampire can’t feel pain? Spike had just disproved yet another myth. His backside had been asleep for hours. If that weren’t bad enough the movie they had been watching was long since over. Now gracing the screen was an enthusiastic and equally annoying man desperately trying to sell a rack of swords. Puny little things, a set of steak knives compared to his own private stash of weaponry, they’d be lucky to stand up to a fledgling vampire attack!

The remote was laying on the coffee table only a few feet away. He was dying—figuratively speaking, of course—to turn off the television and end the man’s mindless babbling, but he didn’t dare move for fear of waking the Slayer who now lay sprawled the length of the couch sound asleep with her head using his lap as a pillow.

He smiled sadly as he gazed down at her sleeping face. What he would have given eight years ago to be in just this sort of position. He wasn’t going to get delusional now. The only reason she was allowing this close contact was that she had been desperately fighting sleep until exhaustion had finally won out. She still didn’t truly trust him and never would. The last eight years had proven that fact. He had kept in touch with the Niblet, and every letter he had received had been filled with how much Buffy missed him—missed him so much he hadn’t heard a single word from her in eight years! He hadn’t made any effort to keep his whereabouts a secret. Now a word, not a single crumb making it obvious that she wasn’t interested and never would be!

A rather persistent itch on his cheek brought Spike round from his thoughts. It wasn’t an itch really, more of an unpleasant burning sensation, becoming more searing by the moment.

“Oh, bloody hell,” Spike growled as he noticed the pale rays of morning sunlight beginning to filter through the curtains. He lifted the Slayer from his lap as gently as he could as he proceeded to stand and escape the burning rays. Her muffled groan of protest let him know he hadn’t been all that gentle.

Still even after the jarring motion, she managed to settle right back to sleep. Spike stared down at her still sleeping form. His cheek still tingled where the light had made contact. He could have burnt to a crisp beneath her, and at best she might have rolled over!

Behind him he could hear the strains so the National Anthem begin to pour from the television speakers, a definite sign it was past his bedtime. Quickly he grabbed the remote, pushed a button, and the screen went blank. Then he turned back to Buffy. He could have just let her stay there—she seemed comfortable enough, but instead he bent over and gathered her limp body into his arms. This time instead of protesting, she curled up in his grasp her head nestled lightly against his neck.

It was amazing, he thought as he made his way up the stairs to her bedroom, how complicated she could make things even when she was unconscious. He laid her out on the bed, his hands reluctantly leaving the Slayer’s body. It had definitely been a mistake to come here. Although, he had promised himself at least a thousand times before he reached the Sunnydale city limits that this would only be a visit, he was finding himself wanting to stay more with each passing moment.

Quickly, as if he wanted to do it before he had a chance to change his mind, he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. “Good night, Buffy,” he whispered softly, and then just as quickly stood up right and made his way to the door.

“Spike,” the sound of her voice filtered through the room, so lightly if he hadn’t been a vampire he would have missed it completely. Instantly, he stopped his hand poised over the doorknob and looked over his shoulder expectantly. Not surprisingly, she laid on the bed still asleep a small smile curving her soft lips. So much for a romantic moment!







“Time to get up, Spike,” Buffy’s voice pierced through the sleep clouding his mind. He groaned in annoyance. It felt like he had just lay down, and she had managed to interrupt a particularly enjoyable dream.

“Go away, Slayer,” he warned opening his eyes halfway. She was standing by the door. She was fully dressed and had already managed to do the hair and make up thing. Even from across the room, he could catch the faint scent of vanilla. Apparently, she had been up for quite a while.

“And Dawn says I’m a grouch when I get up,” she teased.

“Can’t you let the dead rest in peace?” he growled back at her.

“Look, there’s nothing I’d like better than to let you sleep the night away, but Giles just called.”

“And what did the Watcher want, luv?” he asked shooting her yet another sleepy glare. Since when did he have to snap to attention just because her bloody Watcher called?

“He needs us at the Magick Shop,” Buffy told him. Giles had had that ‘I’m trying to make this sound routine, but something big is happening’ tone to his voice when she spoke to him. She really didn’t have the time to coax a grouchy vampire out of bed, but Giles had insisted that Spike be at the meeting too. “He’s called a meeting…”

“You forget, I’m not a Scooby,” he reminded her as he managed to roll over to his side and propped himself up on his elbow. He may be a grouch when he woke up, but he definitely looked delicious when he got up. His blond hair was a riotous mess of blond curls, and the sheet had fallen dangerously low on his hips revealing his chest and stomach. His pale skin showing the outline of the tight muscles underneath. Is he naked under there? Where had that come from? Focus Buffy!

“Look, Giles asked that you be there,” she snapped angry with herself for letting her mind wonder. “Are you coming or not?”

“Pushy, pushy, Slayer,” he teased. He hadn’t failed to notice how her eyes had began to wander the moment he rolled over, and he rather enjoyed the blush coloring her cheekbones as she now tried to focus on something just over his shoulder. “I’m up, just give me a minute to get dressed.”

Spike reached down to flip the sheet off his legs, and Buffy hastily left the room, not so gracefully banging into the doorframe as she did so. She was fairly certain he didn’t have anything on under that sheet, but she wasn’t going to stick around to find out! Hearing Spike’s soft laughter through the door made her blush all the more as she just short of ran back down the stairs.

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