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Author's Chapter Notes:
This is the penultimate chapter to this story. It was originally going to be the last but I decided to split it into two separate chapters. There are sexual situations in this chapter. I hope you enjoy. :)
With a start, Buffy’s eyes flew open. She realized that she was once again back in her own bedroom, the very same as the one she’d called her own for the last five years. Running a hand through her sweaty hair she let a smile spread across her face.

The three spirits that she’d encountered had tortured her with the most horrific of visions. They’d twisted up her insides until all of her repressed pain was squeezed from her heart. And now…she felt whole again. In spite of the agony that she’d endured when she saw the horrible potential future, she knew it had been worth it. None of those things had happened yet. They could still be changed.

She leaped out of bed, still clad in her pajamas and wanted to jump for joy. She was alive and now she knew what a precious gift that was. She had her life and she had all the time in the world to live it.

A solitary tear coursed over the swell of her cheekbone and her face softened. “Thank you, Faith,” she whispered to the air, even though she knew the incarcerated girl wasn’t able to hear her.

Suddenly Buffy was infused with the fear that she’d totally missed Christmas. After all, hadn’t Faith warned her that the ghosts would appear on three consecutive nights? Now that she was into the spirit of it she didn’t want to have missed the glorious day. She leaped from the bed and padded into Dawn’s bedroom, startling her sister.

“What is it?” Dawn asked, her head whipping up. “Is there a demon?”

She was shocked to see Buffy standing over the bed. And was the Slayer grinning? For a moment she wondered if Buffy had finally lost her mind and was having a ‘Here’s Johnny’ moment. The brunette surreptitiously glanced around for any sign of an ax.

“There’s no demon, Dawnie,” Buffy grinned, heedless of her sister’s concerns. She was practically bouncing on her heels with anticipation. “I need to know what day it is!”

“Huh?”

“What…day…is…it?” Buffy annunciated slowly.

“Umm.” Dawn rubbed at her sleepy eyes. “It’s Christmas Day, Buffy. You remember! It’s the one we don’t bother to celebrate anymore.” The younger Summers pouted and turned away. All her hurt and anger from the previous day came flooding back like a tidal wave.

“Dawnie, I was wrong when I said that stuff. I didn’t mean it. I know everything’s really sucked since I came back from…”Buffy paused and took a deep breath. “…from heaven. But things are a-changin’ now. Okay?”

Buffy slid down onto Dawn’s bed and drew the teen into her arms. The sisters embraced deeply. For Buffy this was truly wonderful. Having her sister’s comfort had been something she’d denied herself for too long. For Dawn it was equally amazing. She felt like she’d finally gotten her big sister back. Although she didn’t understand the abrupt change in her sister’s behavior, in her short life she’d learned not to question when something good actually happened to her.

When they pulled away Buffy stroked Dawn’s dark locks tenderly.

“Does this mean Christmas is back on?” Dawn probed, her blue eyes widening hopefully.

“Absolutely!” Buffy agreed.

“But I thought we couldn’t afford it.”

Buffy paused thoughtfully and for a moment Dawn feared all of her hopes might once again be crushed. However, Buffy smiled. “I’ve learned that money isn’t the most important thing in the world. We’ll find the money somewhere and if we don’t at least we’ll have each other when we move into prime real estate on Skid Row.” Buffy giggled. “Having the people we love around us and making memories…good memories…for the future is what counts, sweetie.”

Dawn just nodded. Buffy’s words had rendered her speechless.

“So can you go down to the basement and get all of the boxes up into the living room? You can make the house look pretty, right?” Buffy grinned again, and tucked a lock of Dawn’s chestnut hair behind her ear.

“Color me Queen of Pretty,” beamed Dawn.

Buffy smiled indulgently at her sister. “Do you think you can get Willow to help you out with it too?”

Dawn’s countenance darkened at her sister’s words and she crossed her arms firmly over her chest. “Get Willow to help me? So she can try to kill me again?”

“Dawn,” sighed Buffy. “Willow’s sorry for what she did. And I think I know now that she needs help for her problem. She’s suffering from an addiction and it’s hard for her but we’re her friends and we need to be here for her, okay?” Dawn didn’t answer and Buffy sighed again. “Everyone deserves a second chance. Please Dawn?”

The two Summers females maintained eye contact for a moment before Dawn finally relented. “Okay! I’ll try to be nice.”

“Thank you, Dawnie,” Buffy smiled, kissing her little sister on her forehead.

“Should I go get started? If we’re doing the whole big Christmas thing it’s gonna take a while to prepare.”

Buffy nodded yes and then almost leaped off the bed. “Oh, that reminds me. Can you head to the store, find some food. Oh and call Xan and Anya. They should be here too.”

“What about you?”

“There’s someone I have to go see,” responded Buffy cryptically, a light blush coloring her cheeks.

Buffy rushed out of the room before Dawn could even remind her that most of the stores in town would be shut. Oh well. The teenager was pretty sure that she would manage to find some way around it even if she had to serve a can of beans to her sister and their friends.

The Slayer flew out of Dawn’s bedroom and into her own. She managed to get dressed in record time, throwing on a sleeveless roll neck red sweater and tight black pants. She did take the time to apply a little cherry flavored gloss to her lips and swept her hair into a makeshift ponytail even though she wasn’t really worried about her appearance right now. The young woman was much more interested in finding a certain blond vampire.

Before he did anything fatalistically stupid.

Although it only took a few minutes to reach his crypt, her trepidation that he might already be gone stretched those minutes out into an eternity. The image of him burning up into dust flashed through her memory again and she momentarily screwed her eyes shut to regain composure.

That couldn’t happen.

Buffy wouldn’t allow it.

The Slayer kicked his crypt door open with a resounding crash and stormed through the open doorway. Her heart was pounding so hard that she could feel it pulsating in her temples.

“Spike!” she called out, barely able to contain her worry that he’d already dusted himself. The spirit hadn’t indicated what time the dusting had actually happened, only that it was already light outside. “Spike!”

There was no answer. Only the sound of her hollow voice bouncing off the walls echoed in her ears. “Spike, are you here?” she yelled again. “Please.” Buffy felt like she was about to fall to her knees and sob.

After several nervous seconds, the trapdoor at the other end of the crypt flew open and a blonde head poked out. “Can’t the bloody dead get a little rest around here?” Spike sighed in annoyance, pinning her with a glare.

A disgruntled vampire was now scowling at her, but it didn’t matter that he was disgruntled or scowling because he was still undusty and that’s all that mattered. She actually noted how cute he looked with that slightly furrowed brow and pouty lips.

Oh yeah, she knew for sure now that her feelings ran deeper than indifferent contempt. Dare she use the word…love?

“You’re here!” she cooed, careering forward and launching herself into his arms. The sudden motion sent the pair of them off-balance and they tumbled to the ground, hitting it with a solid thud. Buffy didn’t feel the pain though, mostly because all she could feel was elation that she was in his arms, but also because he cushioned her and took the brunt of their fall.

However, when she grinned at the vampire she noticed her wasn’t looking quite as blissful as she was. In fact he was eyeing her with caution as if she might have finally been dragged down into the mire of insanity.

“Have you gone bloody barmy?” he asked her, disentangling them and rising to his feet swiftly. He put some distance between the two of them and Buffy frowned. Usually Spike was trying to get as close as possible to her but now he was apparently trying to put as much space as possible between them as he could.

“Huh? No, I’m finally seeing things clearly for the first time,” she told him, hoping she could make him share in her boundless glee.

“This clear sight of yours didn’t happen to be preceded with a breakfast of some dodgy looking mushrooms did it?” the vampire asked, studying her closely for signs of alien abduction or some kind of possession.

Buffy smacked his arm playfully. “I’m not on drugs, not crazy and…not a robot.”

“Hmm, didn’t think of the robot thing,” he said.

Buffy figured that if he’d been able to blush he would have done. Commissioning the Buffybot wasn’t exactly his finest hour. She flashed him a playful scowl and leaned against the dusty, cobweb covered wall.

“I’m here because I was worried about you. You know, being all alone at this time of year isn’t good for anyone.”

Spike frowned. “Didn’t think I was a someone. Thought I was a disgusting evil thing.”

Buffy’s face clouded with guilt and regret at the words she’d haphazardly slung at him so many times. Although he might not be human, Buffy could see echoes of the human that he’d once been.

The first spirit had managed to instill in her that vampires were just as different as humans from one another. In many ways they shadowed the human they used to be. It contradicted everything the Watcher’s Council tried to pedal as gospel truth, but she trusted her own eyes more than she trusted the Quentin Travers brigade.

While Liam had been a bad human and had become an even more malevolent vampire, William had been a good human and had learned to be good as a vampire when circumstances gave him the opportunity. Finally Buffy could appreciate that there was a good man inside the shell of his bad boy persona.

Unable to keep her hands off him for another moment, she lunged forward and grabbed his biceps. She pressed her lips to his and it didn’t take long before he responded to her ministrations. His instincts told him not to let her use him again but he just couldn’t resist his golden girl and he ran his tongue against the seam of her lips and she eagerly parted them to allow him access to the hot cavern of her mouth. Buffy gasped as she felt his tongue begin to massage hers with undiluted passion.

Finally the need for air overwhelmed the human woman and she broke away, gasping. Her cells were electrified from the passion of the kiss and the promise that his eyes held as to what could happen next. Her stomach clenched with lust as memories of naked Spike and the things that he could do to her body assailed her.

“Don’t want you to think that I’m an ungrateful sod, love,” gasped Spike, his chest heaving in spite of the fact that he didn’t innately need to breathe. “But what is this?”

Buffy looked at him sheepishly. “Do we need to define it?”

“Just like to know where I stand. Only yesterday you were happy as bloody Larry to play a round of Kick the Spike at every turn.”

“I know I’ve said some bad things to you, Spike. We’ve said and done some crap to each other in the past. But I want to put that behind us. This is a new start I want you to come over to my house for lunch today,” she told him, still clinging to his strong arms.

“Lunch?” He looked at her through his lusty haze, trying to digest her words.

“You know that thing where you put food into your mouth. I’m sure you’re familiar with it. I know you’re a vamp but I’ve seen you eat human food.”

“There’s one kind of human food I’d really love to nibble on right now.” The timbre of his voice and the pointed look her flashed at the apex of her thighs enlightened her as to exactly what he’d love to feast on. In spite of herself she blushed. She knew just how talented the vampire was with his tongue from their night together in the dilapidated old house.

Taking a deep breath Buffy tried to pull her mind back on to the subject at hand. “I was actually talking about lunch at my house. For Christmas, duh!” She grinned at him playfully.

“Christmas?” he choked out, barely able to believe it. “You want me to spend Christmas with you?” It hadn’t surprised him that the Slayer had been virtually humping his legs moment ago, but having her invite him to spend Christmas with her was something that almost floored him.

Buffy smiled shyly at his reaction. “Not just with me. With Dawn and…and the Scoobies too. Wills and Xander will be there. And Anya also, I guess. Maybe even Tara.”

Although it would generally be an unappealing thought for Spike to spend more time with Harris, Buffy’s offer melted his heart. To be asked into her inner sanctum was a dream come true. Actually, it seemed too good to be true.

“Not that I’m complaining, but what’s brought on this sudden change of heart, pet?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

Reluctantly he separated himself from the Slayer. He needed to know what was going on before he got his hopes up. The vampire was too tired of being crushed and he needed to know he wasn’t just setting himself up for another fall. Pulling himself onto the top of the sarcophagus, he sparked up a cigarette and carefully studied her reaction.

Buffy was stunned that Spike hadn’t accepted her offer like a shark sourcing newly spilled blood. But then she realized the truth. He had no reason to trust her. Ever since he declared his love for her, she had pushed him away and abused him. She used him for what he could give her and then discarded him like a dirty old Kleenex. Sure, a lot of the time he was fully deserving of her contempt and disdain. But recently he’d been trying his best to be good, and she still wasn’t cutting him any slack.

Spike didn’t know about Buffy’s ghosts. He was totally oblivious to her epiphany. The previous night had fundamentally altered her. Since she returned from heaven, she’d been so depressed and disconnected, perilously circling the proverbial drain. She’d gotten a chance to see where she was coming from, and where she might be going to, and she realized that she’d gotten a second chance at life. Death was eternal, but life was just a fleeting breeze, and now she was determined to enjoy it.

She approached him slowly, not backing away when he flinched. Buffy was a little hurt that he was clearly expecting a fist to the nose, but she’d reached a zen-like understanding now.

“I want you there because…I want you to be a part of my life,” she admitted, leveling her eyes to his. They were moist with the sheen of tears. Opening her heart like this was so difficult for the Slayer.

Ever since she’d been crushed by her disastrous first attempt at love with Angel, she’d vowed never to fall so deeply again. But now she had. It had crept up on her without her even realizing. When she saw the image of the blond vampire dusting under the dull sun of a Christmas morning something had clicked within her and she knew that this really was the deepest, truest kind of love that there was.

And it was terrifying just to let herself fall. However, she truly trusted that Spike would be there to catch her.

“You want me in your life?” he repeated disbelievingly. “Sure you’re really Buffy and not another bot?”

Both of them winced at his offhanded reference to the Buffybot but Buffy pushed away the thoughts of the robot that had been constructed in her image and smiled reassuringly.

“I do.” She sighed and gently cupped his face in her palm. He leaned into her touch like a cat and quietly purred as her fingertips danced over the sharp plane of his cheekbones. “I had a kind of…epiphany.”

He frowned. “You’re not actually on drugs, are you?”

Buffy giggled and slapped his chest lightly. “I’m not on drugs. Just high on life, I guess. High on you.”

“No offense, pet. But yesterday you were in the doldrums and now you’re acting like the soddin’ Dalai Lama after an opium binge.”

“Well I thought about how much things would suck if I kept on being depressed. Heaven’s still gonna be there for whenever my time is, but I don’t want to waste the time I have with the people I love. And you only live once right? Or…well…three times in my case.”

“Twice in mine,” he quipped with a smile and she returned it with a dazzling grin of her own. It warmed his heart to see her smile. He hadn’t seen that enough lately. Suddenly he raised an eyebrow. “Wait! Did you say…‘love’? The people you ‘love’?”

Buffy ducked her head shyly. She really hadn’t meant to blurt that out. But she knew it was true. Even before she died, she’d started falling in love with him but there were too many barriers to let herself truly fall.

When she came back she was a mess of numbness, pain and anger. Added to her shame about falling for yet another vampire, it had meant that she couldn’t admit her love for him.

The ghosts had changed all of that though. Firstly she’d gotten an insight into what Spike was like as a human. William was the very picture of goodness, not at all like she expected he would have been. And so different to the human Liam.

Although she was aware that vampires weren’t like their human selves, she couldn’t help but believe they were a little bit influenced by their former personalities. Somehow, that had helped her consign her feelings for Angel to the past. After what she saw the souled Liam do…her love for him had simply evaporated. That was the moment she’d realized that Liam and Angelus were not actually all that different from each other. And if they were almost the same person then wasn’t Angel cut from the same cloth too?

Putting all thoughts of her former vampire boyfriend out of her head, she focused her attention on the hopeful face of the vampire in front of her.

“I did say love,” she confirmed feeling suddenly self conscious. “And I mean it. I do…love you.”

Spike gulped. “I-I…uh just to clarify? We’re talking about in love right? Not the poncey kind of brotherly love, sitting in a circle singing a round of buggering Kumbaya, or some such bollocks?”

“We’re talking about being in love,” she said with a gentle nod. “I wish I’d let myself admit it before but I’ve been so numb and so scared. I thought that sheltering myself from love was the only way to avoid pain but the pain is still there when I’m alone, maybe even worse. So I’m ready to risk the pain and embrace love. With you.”

“That’s quite a speech,” he commended her, impressed at her uncharacteristic show of verbosity.

“It’s the truth,” she smiled. “I think I started falling in love with you even before I di…even before.” She ducked her head at the almost-reference to her death. “When you protected Dawn from Glory, I knew right then that you’d changed from the vampire who came to Sunnydale wanting slayer-guts on a platter. You can be a good man, Spike.”

Spike almost choked at her allusion to him being good. However, he paused before negating the accusation. He knew that he had changed for her. He’d done it because he knew she couldn’t love an evil vampire but also because he actually wanted to change. Without even realizing it, at some point along the way he’d actually switched sides. He knew he was a white hat now and not just to impress Buffy, but also because he couldn’t view humans as little happy meals on legs these days.

Of course this revelation was life changing sort of stuff but weirdly it didn’t faze him as much as it should have. In some ways it was strangely comforting to know that he could make a place in the world at the Slayer’s side without any residual resentment at being neutered anymore. He never thought he’d even think it but in that moment he was actually grateful to the Initiative for giving him the chance to get close to Buffy and also to rediscover a side to himself that he thought Angelus’ tutelage had buried long ago.

“You know I love you too, right?” he said, almost shyly and she nodded.

“I really do.”

He drew her into his arms, staring at her face for several moments, soaking in her beauty. There was a niggling worry in his heart that this wasn’t real or that it was a dream, but her caress of his cheekbone proved that it was real. The way her touch made his nerves sing could be any less than real.

When their eyes met Buffy felt like she was being pulled into the two deep blue pools. They shone with awe and happiness as he looked at her as if she was a precious gem. His gaze dropped to her lips, hungrily studying them and then he couldn’t wait anymore. With fevered desire he bent to seal his lips to hers and Buffy eagerly responded.

For the first time, Buffy took the time to explore his cool mouth, tasting his flavor and savoring it on her tongue. She could taste the faint tang of whiskey and smoke and the combination made me moan into his mouth. Emboldened by her clear sound of pleasure, Spike’s eager hands stared to wander downward, caressing the small of her back before venturing to the curve of her ass. Once again, Buffy groaned in pleasure at the mounting sensations.

Desperate to feel his skin under her fingertips, Buffy started to pull off his clothes, heedless of the damage that she was doing to the cloth. The young woman was lost in the haze of passion and all she could focus on was her need for Spike.

With fervent desire, Spike returned the favor, tearing off the Slayer’s clothes and discarding them on the floor of the crypt.

“Bloody hell, pet. I need you so much. Can’t wait to feel you.”

“Please don’t make me wait!” she agreed, touching and tasting every and any part of him that she could.

He was vaguely aware of the fact that he had a bed down under the ground but right now he didn’t feel like he could make it that far. He needed to keep touching Buffy and to have her keep on touching him. Without that contact he was sure he would dust immediately.

“You’re so beautiful,” Spike remarked, staring at the now naked Slayer in the dull light of the crypt. He leaned forward to kiss her collarbone, laving her with his tongue. He could taste the faint saltiness on her skin along with her innate Buffy-ness and it was fast affecting his already engorged member. “I want you, Buffy.”

“I want you too, Spike. I wish I didn’t fight it for so long.” She gripped his long thick cock in her small hands and slowly started working the shaft drawing an ecstatic groan from her lover.

“God, is this real?” he gasped, enjoying the sensations that she was stirring inside of him.

“Not as real as this.” Without pausing, Buffy dropped to her knees ceremoniously so that she was eye level with his dick. As she came face to face with his alabaster cock she noted that he was even more impressive that when she had just felt him in her hands and pussy. Although this was their third time together, she hadn’t allowed herself to really look at him before and now she knew she’d been sorely missing out on a true treat.

Experimentally her little pink tongue darted out to lick the head of his throbbing dick.

“Fuck, Summers!” Spike gasped, gripping the lid of the sarcophagus in back of him so forcefully that it crumbled under his strength.

With a smile, Buffy repeated her actions licking him like he was the yummiest Popsicle in the world. Opening her mouth to him, she swallowed as much of his long, thick length as she could, moaning around him. One hand firmly grasped the base of his throbbing organ while the other came around to play with his heavy balls. She took him as deeply into her throat as she could while he babbled incoherently.

“Bloody fuck, yeah! Take me, Kitten. Take me in deep. Ah, that’s it! Such a lovely little gob, so perfectly shaped. Feels so good to have you suck me, pet. Need you. Oh!”

Her mouth, tongue, and teeth stimulated the helpless vampire, his jaw clenching as he reached the precipice of the eternal void of pleasure. With Buffy’s ministrations he feared he could fall over and never return from the pinnacle of that bliss.

“Gonna…bloody gonna come,” he warned her, trying to hold off just in case she didn’t want to swallow his spendings.

“So come,” mumbled the Slayer around his dick. Her eyes rose to his, gleaming with untamed lust and unquenched passion.

Seeing her like that, he couldn’t hold back and it wasn’t long before his balls were tightening up in her hands and his load was streaming from his cock, trickling ceaselessly down her throat.

Licking her lips to catch any of his stray semen, Buffy found herself yanked to her feet and pinned against the sarcophagus.

“Have I ever told you how soddin’ brilliant you are, Kitten?” he asked her, his continued want for her evident in his intense gaze.

“Don’t tell me,” she said. “Show me!”

Spike grinned and crushed his lips to hers. She opened her mouth to let his tongue in and tangle with hers. He could taste his own salty flavor on her lips but it only enflamed his desire even more.

“Are you ready for me?” he asked, knowing she was absolutely ready. He could feel her readiness as his fingers danced along her moist slit, dipping into the hole before running back to caress her hard clit. “Gonna let me slide home?”

“God, yes, Spike! Please, do it!”

The vampire positioned himself at the entrance of her sopping wet channel. The Slayer bucked up, desperate to feel him penetrate her. It had been too long since she felt him inside of her and she’d never really accepted him until now.

As he glided into her, she finally accepted him into her in every way.

Languorously he thrust into her, his hands running up her ribs and coasting over her outstretched arms. Blue eyes clashed with green as intense passion electrified their union.

“You could never know just how bloody much you mean to me, Buffy,” Spike gasped, reaching down to pinch her clit.

“Ah! Oh God, I do know, Spike. I do.”

“How?” He stilled his motions and searched her face for answers. “Tell me how you know, pet.”

She smiled, her feelings for him breaking through the lusty haze. “I know because I feel the same way.”

“Oh God!”

And then he was pumping into her again, harder this time, his movements weaving a spell around the crypt like the melody of angels. It was heavenly and beautiful.

It was home. They were home.

When they climaxed, their shared passion reverberated around the stone walls of the crypt, bouncing from surface to surface even as the pleasure continued to roll through their spent bodies.

Collapsing together onto the lid of the sarcophagus both of the supernatural beings panted wildly, trying to get their breath back. Even Spike, who didn’t need to breathe, gasped deeply. Buffy was the only woman in the world who was able to make him forget that he didn’t need to breathe. They lay together for several minutes, just holding each other and enjoying the aftermath of their loving coupling.

Reluctantly Buffy broke the mood. “I gotta head home and make sure everything’s ready.” On shaky legs, the Slayer rose and began to pull on her clothes. However, her expression told him that she really didn’t want to go and that reassured him, warming his long dead heart with affection.

“Do you have to?” he pouted. “There’s so much more I want to do…so much more I want to taste…”

Buffy gasped at the heat generated by his words but shook her head reluctantly. “Yes, I do Mister. I promise we’ll have time for that though.”

“All the time in the world?”

“Absolutely.” Or as long as a Slayer had in this world, anyway.

After giving him one more kiss, she padded out of his crypt, her instincts wanting to run back to him, jump him and say screw the lunch. However, this was a new chapter in their lives. It was one where she wouldn’t hide in the shadows with him. She wanted to show everyone just how she felt about him.

Truly, madly, deeply in love.


Chapter End Notes:
Please let me know what you think. :)



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