Helena entered their room in the morning. It was barely light outside and she was talking about the hunt and how much Spike would enjoy it. He really didn’t want to leave Buffy but the maid assured him that Buffy would be taken care of. Spike looked nervously at the maid and said that he wasn’t feeling well and that he thought perhaps Buffy and he should sleep in for a while in hopes he would feel better. She nodded saying that sounded smart. The maid left and then came back with their outfits for the day. She left them on the table along with some food that wouldn’t go bad if left out. She had stopped bringing the blood as it was remaining untouched. Spike closed his eyes since Buffy hadn’t awoken yet and went back to sleep.
Three hours later, Buffy awoke first. Her eyes hurt and she found herself still lying in Spike’s arms. He only had pants on and had apparently removed his shirt sometime during the night but she had remained dressed in her nightgown. She lifted herself up slightly studying him in his sleep. He looked amazing actually. He looked so peaceful and human if you could get past the whole not breathing thing. His hair was all ruffled and curly and he wore a gentle smile on his face. She sighed as she placed a kiss against his lips unable to help herself since he was really beautiful as he slept. Dawn’s words echoed in her head, “He’ll take good care of us. He always took good care of me when you were gone.” She had even gone as far as to call him a great guy. She put her hand against his cheek whispering, “You are William to me. You’re caring and understanding and you try your best. Granted you can’t always understand what’s best but you do try your best. I’m sorry I’m so lousy to you. You deserve better than me.” After saying that, she sighed and got out of bed. She went and sat on the windowsill looking outside.
In this world, Spike could walk in the sunlight. He could make love with her on the beach and could be a normal being. He was right, he had no reason to return. He was living in a wonderful fortress. The only reason she could see for him to return was the blood but surely the creatures of this world would have something he could live off of. She frowned thinking of how life might be without Spike. He wouldn’t be able to jump out of places scaring her, or saving her ass. He wouldn’t be there to annoy the hell out of her and then make her feel so comfortable the next. She sat by the window and leaned back as she felt Spike’s arms go around her shoulders. She closed her eyes breathing in the scent of tobacco as he blew out smoke over her head. She was still amazed and how much the smell of tobacco really comforted her when dealing with Spike. He whispered against her ear, “Fancy a walk today, pet?” She nodded and tentatively asked, “Will they let us walk out of the fortress?” Spike shrugged, “I’m a warrior not a slave or captive. I reckon I might have a bit of a harder time with you but I’m sure I can talk the guards into it.”
Buffy nodded and turned around looking into his eyes for a moment. Spike gasped as he noticed what was in her eyes and thought he was imaging it. He closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened then seeing the same look and without thinking he whispered, “Buffy.” Buffy snapped out of her trance, “What Spike?” Spike realized she probably didn’t even realize what she was showing in her eyes and face so said instead, “Do you need a bath or shower before we go?” Buffy shook her head, “No, I’ll take one when we get back.” Spike nodded and stepped back allowing her to step around him. She picked up the items for the day, “They really love us females in skirts and dresses.” Spike smirked, “You look sexy in a skirt sweetheart.” Before both of their eyes, the house scene replayed before them.
Buffy shook her head first knocking the memory from her mind, “I’d better get dressed so we can go on that walk.” Spike nodded as he started to get dressed in his tan leather pants, black shirt and tan vest. He opted to put on his leather jacket for the day missing the way it felt around him. He looked up to see Buffy was tying her skirt, which was black, around her waist and then a tan shirt, which had no sleeves. He watched as she pulled the black vest over the outside and looked up at him smiling. He smiled back as she went over to the table and picked up a few of the assortment of what appeared to be strange fruits. She made a slight face but continued to eat it knowing she needed to keep up her strength. Buffy frowned as she ate another piece of fruit, then offered her wrist to Spike. Spike wished he could drink their blood but had given up on that idea. He shook his head determined to put off feeding from her as long as possible. She frowned but said nothing figuring perhaps her blood lasted longer than normal so he was still full. She ate one more piece of fruit watching as Spike tried one. He shrugged thinking it wasn’t half bad but definitely not something he’d want to eat forever. He took a swig of water and offered the glass to Buffy who drank the rest. As she put it down, he asked, “Ready to go luv?” She nodded and together they walked out of the room.
They didn’t have much trouble at all leaving their room. Everyone was on the hunt other than the ladies who were busy doing various jobs and not paying too much attention to what Spike and Buffy were doing. The air outside was a bit chilly but Buffy was determined to brave it since she didn’t really have a jacket. Buffy and Spike walked side by side through the village and out the front gates. The guard promised he would open the door to them when they returned so they continued their walk. Buffy was enjoying the sunlight and fresh air as was Spike.
Spike had removed his jacket despite the chill and would pause once in a while to feel the sunlight on his skin. It took all his energy to resist the urge to remove all his clothes and run naked in the sun. It had been a few days since he had enjoyed the sunlight. Buffy watched him as he grinned and walked around happy. She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to never feel the sunlight on your face again as long as you exist. For a split second, she regretted her decision to destroy the ring holding the Gem of Amara but she knew she had done best as he was different back then. She, without giving much thought to the action, held his hand in hers as they walked. He noticed and looked down at their joined hands but decided to say nothing.
They walked and walked until they were far from the fortress. As they walked, they talked about things of importance. He talked about how different his life had become compared to his early life as a vampire. He talked about how the demons were often out to get him, how he didn’t belong in the underground anymore but didn’t fit in her world and how he was never included. He told her that he was feeling more alone than he had in all his existence.
Buffy talked about concerns about money, taking care of Dawn as well as balancing out dealing with her friends who now wanted to make everything in her life perfect except for the things that mattered. They constantly were asking her if she was ok, if they could do anything for her but never once apologizing for their mistakes or offering to make her load any lighte. Spike concurred when she told him that they looked to her to fix every problem that existed. Both of them wanted to make life easier on the other but didn’t want to make false promises. Hope filled the air as they talked and talked.
Buffy felt for once in her life that she could really talk about things without worrying about hurting someone’s feelings and Spike felt as though he could understand her. They both didn’t feel like they fit in the world they were in and neither felt comfortable enough to complain about it or change anything about it. Spike wanted so badly to be in her world and she wanted so badly to be in her world as well but instead both felt as though they were on the outside looking in. They seemed destined to provide help and services but not to be in with the crowd.
The daylight was still upon them and the weather was beautiful. Spike suddenly heard water along side of them and without saying a word, dropped her hand and ran towards it. She yelled out, “Spike, wait up” but he didn’t hesitate and just kept on running. She couldn’t hear the water yet and could only barely see his leather jacket billowing in his arms as he ran. She finally stopped, holding the stitch in her side as she saw what he was running towards. It was a beautiful beach. The water was green and not the beautiful blue of home but it was still just as nice. Spike had stripped and jumped into the water enjoying the feel of the sunlight on his body as his body enjoyed the feeling of warm water on his skin. He grinned, “Come on in Slayer. I dare you to walk on the wild side and skinny dip with me.” He looked so happy she couldn’t resist teasing him with a strip tease that caused him to pause his swimming to watch. She waltzed towards the water naked, tempting him, and she then dove into the water. Spike immediately wrapped his arms around her as she tried to swim past him, grinning at her before placing a kiss on her lips that showed how appreciative of the strip tease he was. She laughed and wiggled away from him tempting him to follow. Together they played in the water splashing, diving and playing tag while sharing kisses and light touches.