Buffy and Dalton fell into a routine. They would sleep at opposite hours mostly.
Dalton staying awake as she slept in order to watch over her and she got a job at a local diner while he slept.
They really needed the money. She introduced Dalton to the others as her brother and with how protective he was of her, no one doubted it.
With Buffy’s first paycheck, they managed to get a small television, which was enough to entertain them both.
Dalton taught Buffy to play cards with the deck of cards Dalton had found in their new home.
Since it was Buffy’s home, no vampires could enter anymore other than Dalton since she considered him family plus he had an invite.
She still ached and longed for Spike. Sometimes it was so bad she begged Dalton to kill her but instead he would just give her juice and cookies and sing to her so ease her pain.
Sometimes Buffy seemed ill, but being a medical school graduate, he knew that she was only experiencing the pains of a broken heart.
He had actually heard of people just giving up their will of living and dying with unknown causes due to a broken heart.
It appeared as though Buffy would be having her life end the same way as she got up for work every morning, showered, putting on clothes she had brought from home.
The place still had electricity. She wasn’t sure how that was possible but it came equipped with a laundry room that worked.
So it was like a home away from home.
Dalton and her shared a room. Mostly because Dalton insisted on keeping her safe and since she never opened the claim, he couldn’t sense her at all so decided to sleep close in case he was needed.
They had found a sparing amount of furniture in the attic and Dalton had arranged Buffy’s bedroom with it.
It had a dresser for her clothes, a box for his, as well as a cabinet for her work items and to rest the TV on.
He had stolen some clothes from the salvation army boxes near the hospital and those are what he wore. They were simple, black with white like he liked.
They were mostly similar to hospital scrubs but he dressed them up with a shirt to cover over them. Buffy did his laundry along with hers without question
What started off as weeks, turned into two months.
Buffy was settled into her job although she was pale, miserable and looked dead.
If Dalton didn’t know better, he would think she would pass for a vampire. Only he knew she wasn’t dead, just dead inside.
Her work said nothing and continued to pay her as she was a hard worker. She would restock food, he would restock blood and that was their schedule.
Dalton still was protective of her but only at night when she slept. She was freely roaming over town now without a worry.
One day while at work after her two months of working, a vampire came into the diner just before closing.
She eyed him since she was tempted to dust him but her coworker was there.
It had been a while since Buffy had dusted anyone and she was so tempted and had missed the action that came of a good vampire fight.
Her coworker said, “Listen I have to go. My wife’s having her baby. Can you close up?”
Buffy nodded knowing how excited Jim would be that Nessa was having her baby finally and watched as he left the diner.
As he left, 5 more vampires came into the diner. One whispered, “Slayer…”
Buffy shuddered. She was so out of shape it wasn’t funny.
Two months without working out or exercising at really allowed her muscles to become weaker.
She looked around for a piece of wood as she panicked. She panicked so much that Dalton was able to feel the claim from her and her panic.
Without thinking, he rushed outside noticing it was luckily nighttime and rushed to the diner to save Buffy.
Buffy ran into the kitchen to find a wooden spoon knowing any mess she made would be her fault and she would have to clean it up.
She dusted one quickly but the others realized they were dealing with a real slayer and went into fighting mode.
The four vampires circled her and threw punches and kicks at her and she was feeling them hitting her hard.
Without her tight muscles, they made her ache and cry out as she managed to only dust one more after much fighting.
She was tired and hurt and they seemed to still continue to throw punches and kicks at her.
She thought this was it, she was really dying. One last time she opened all the claims she had and felt Spike’s presence somewhere.
She whispered to the claim towards him, ‘I’m sorry Spike. I tried. I love you’ and with that she lost consciousness.
Dalton rushed in to see vampires on top of Buffy trying to bite her but the necklace was barely fending her off.
He was afraid but eager to protect his mistress. He broke a chair on the ground and picked up a piece of wood and impaled the closest vampire.
The other two turned their attention from Buffy to Dalton and one hissed at him, “You’re a minion and marked by the slayer?”
His eyes grew wide as Dalton dusted him as well.
The last minion quickly rushed towards the door and Dalton let him go as he lifted Buffy into his arms and laid her on the table then picked up the pieces of the chair and tossed them into a corner and took out her keys.
He lifted Buffy into his arms and took her outside the diner and locked the door behind him knowing she would kill him if something happened to the diner on her watched.
As he jumped into the sewer entrance not eager to deal with any vampires who were around and able to smell the potent slayer blood, he carried her home.
Buffy didn’t wake up for a while. He wiped the cuts he could see.
He was tempted to check her completely over but never having seen her naked, he didn’t feel it was right.
She was his mistress not really a patient. Besides, he could see no blood seeping through her clothes so he figured she was safe enough.
He laid her on the bed and sat next to her determined not to leave her side until she woke up.