The Witch, The Warrior, and The Vampire

Brandi

Author’s Notes: Mezzibelle and Sass Angel

Summary: Set season six post AYW. There's a prophecy and the world's going to end if the Scoobies can't work together like they used to. Delves deeply into the Sire/Childe bond, witchcraft, and all things supernatural. Story does contain M/M slash, F/F slash, and F/M pairings. There are a slew of original characters as well

Rating: NC-17

Spoilers: Up to Season 6 As You Were

Pairings: S/B, A/C, Anya/X, W/T, Giles/OC

Disclaimers: The characters of BTVS belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

Chapter 1 - Intervention

The man picked up the phone the next morning and dialed the number he had never, ever intended to use.

"Angel Investigations may I help you," Cordelia's bored voice came over the line.

"I need to speak with Angel now," came the quick, curt, reply.

"May I ask who's calling?" Cordelia recognized the voice deep in the recesses of her mind, but couldn't place the caller's name.

"It's Xander, Cordy, and I need to talk to Angel NOW!"

"Rude much? Not even a hello, or"

"PUT ANGEL ON THE DAMN PHONE NOW, I don't have time to play with you," Xander responded, exasperated; he had taken as much as he could, he had to talk to someone he truly hated and ask for his help. It's for Buffy's sake, he chanted to himself as he waited for Angel's voice to come across the phone.

Without another word to her rude, loser, ex-boyfriend Cordelia put Xander on hold. She got up and walked into Angel's office. He was sitting at his desk drinking his morning mug of blood and reading the paper.

"Angel, Xander's on the phone for you and he sounds really pissed," she said as she looked at the dark, handsome, brooding vampire, who had become her lover a few months ago.

"Problems on the Hellmouth?" he asked while reaching for the phone.

"I don't know, he asked for you, and then yelled at me when I asked who he was. If it was a problem with the Hellmouth, don't you think it would have been Giles or Willow who would call?"

Silently he agreed with Cordelia, as he answered the phone and said, "Good morning, Xander, what can I do for you?"

"Save me the niceties, Deadboy, we've got a serious problem down here. I've managed to get the day off from work, can you see me in two hours? This is something I'd really rather discuss with you face to face."

"Sure, you know how to get here?" Angel asked and gave Xander directions.

~*~

"Dawn!" Buffy yelled up the stairs to her sister. "If you don't hurry you're going to be late again." Getting no response other than a crash from upstairs, Buffy returned to the kitchen to finish fixing her little sisters lunch, and prepared a "to go" cup full of milk and the now heated Pop Tarts onto a napkin for breakfast. Dawn streaked down the stairs and was out the door and into the car before Buffy. Buffy quickly followed Dawn to the car, handed Dawn her lunch and breakfast, as she began the short but necessary drive to Dawn's school. There was no conversation in the car at all between the two sisters. When they arrived at school Buffy looked at her sister and began the daily ritual.

"Now Dawn, after school you go straight to the Magic Box. Do not loiter on school grounds, do not go to the mall, if you go to Spike's crypt you're grounded for a month. I mean it, go straight to the Magic Box and I'll pick you up after work."

Dawn turned to face Buffy and with anger in her eyes she retorted. "yeah, yeah, yeah, same story different day, you don't need to remind me, straight to the Magic Box, no life, no friends, and if I ever speak to that damn vampire again, I'm dead. What is it with you anyway? Didn't you tell him to take care of me before you died? He's not a bad person!! Mom loved him, I love him, he's sweet, and funny, and nice, and he would NEVER do anythi..."

"Dawn how many times do we have to go through this? He is a SOULLESS VAMPIRE, he is evil, I only asked him to look after you if I died, and well, and well I'm back now so you don't ever need to talk to him again. Now go to school, don't skip class, go straight to the Magic Box when you're done. And we are SO never having this conversation again." Buffy then did something she had never done before, she threatened her sister for real, "If you don't want to leave with Social Services next time they come by you will drop this, this, thing you have for Spike and never bring him up to me again." Buffy breathed out in one long threat with pure venom on her tongue.

Dawn, hurt and confused by her sister's hatred for her friend, as well as stunned from Buffy's promise to send her away with Social Services did what any 15 year old girl would do. She stormed out of the car and planned to visit Spike that afternoon.

Buffy sighed as she watched her sister stalk off. I'm really going to have to come up with better reasons for Dawn. There's nothing worse than having to follow orders that make no sense. I ought to know. Well maybe being 15, having a dead mother, an absent father, a Slayer for a sister, and being a mystical entity called a key could be worse than having to follow inane orders, but Buffy doubted it, she just didn't want her sister to get hurt in the crossfire between her and Spike. Hmmmm, there really isn't a crossfire between us... it's just me firing at him all the time. I wonder how much longer he'll take it, she wondered as she pulled into the DoubleMeat Palace for another drudging eight hours of running the drive through window.

~*~

Willow got up and carefully got ready for school without using magick. 'Goddess, does it ever get easier? That spell Amy put on me has made it harder than ever, it's like day one all over again every day.' Willow clasped her shaky hands to her chest, picked up her bookbag and went to school. She and Tara had scheduled a free time for them to have lunch everyday in their schedules and Willow prayed to the Goddess and the Powers That Be, to find Tara today and talk to her. She needed to apologize for so many things, and she needed Tara's support to stay off of magick. Shakily she walked to school and went to class, practicing what she would say to Tara in her head.

~*~

Anya let Xander drop her off at the Magic Box and looked forward to counting out the cash register. Counting money was always a wonderful way to start every day. After a brief good bye kiss, Xander headed for the interstate, and drove north to Los Angeles.

~*~

Spike got up from his favorite chair and heated a mug of blood. He always liked a warm cuppa before he went to sleep. As he drank his blood and smoked a cigarette he stripped. He ran his hand over the bite mark on his neck. 'Cor, that bloody bitch, who the hell does she think she is? She almost ripped my throat out last night.' He quickly glanced over the other bruises littering his body. If he weren't a vampire, she would have killed him with her lovemaking already..... lovemaking, LOVEMAKING???? 'Who the bloody hell am I trying to kid? There's no lovemaking there, it's it's it's it's it's, well it bloody hell wasn't lovemaking. I think the little bint's trying to torture me. Play a bloody game of hurt the neutered vampire. See how far she can make me bend before I break, that's what the bitch was trying to do.' Resolve slowly crept into Spike's heart. 'I love her. I really love her.' Granted stalking her and chaining her up really weren't the proper ways to show love to a human, but he was a vampire and that's bloody well what vampires do! Spike sighed and lit up another fag.

'What am I going to do? I can't keep letting her use me like this it's killing me. I can't bloody well leave Sunnydale either. I promised the chit I'd look after the nibblet 'til the end of the world. Bollocks, I can't refuse her anything. Maybe, just maybe, if I could get control of the situation just one time I could show her how I feel, and then she'd have to believe me. I know she won't love me back, but maybe, just maybe she'd leave a bloke in peace. Peace? The only peace I'll ever know would be at her side, it's the only time I'm whole as it is. The bloody bint is never going to leave me be. She's got a taste for vampires after all, my bleedin' sire did see to that.'

Wistfully he remembered a long ago conversation with a heartbroken and devastated Riley, 'the girl does need some monster in her man, and I have all the monster she needs, but I DON"T NEED A MONSTER IN MY WOMAN.' Spike went into the lower recesses of his crypt and crawled into his king sized, four poster wrought iron bed. 'Corr, if I could just get her down here to a bed and not an alley, or a tumbling down building, or the cemetery, just one time I'd like to take her in love and not anger, fear, or whatever it is that keeps bringing her back to me. Just one time,' Spike thought as he drifted into sleep imagining making love to Buffy the way it should be done.

~*~

Xanders's temper, shock, and disgust had not faded one bit. He hadn't slept the night before, he hadn't even taken Anya up on all the not so subtle hints, nothing about Anya's subtle, that she would enjoy a night of copulating. Seeing Buffy and Spike in the alley had turned him off sex. He hoped it wasn't a permanent situation. Riding the elevator to Angel's office, he knew that when Buffy found out what he was doing she would kill him, but maybe he and Angel could work out a way for Buffy to never know. As he walked into the office Xander gave a curt good morning to Cordelia and told her to let Angel know he was there. Angel stepped out of his office at the first sound of Xander's voice. He had never heard the boy speak in that tone before, it worried him.

"Xander!" Angel said and clasped his hand around the young man's shoulder, "it's good to see you--" Before Angel could continue Xander interrupted.

"No it's not and the circumstances couldn't be any worse, but I didn't know who else to turn to. It's Bad, Angel, Big Bad, and no offense to you, Cordy, but I'd rather not have anyone else within earshot until I finish what I have to say."

Angel simply looked at Cordy and said, "Cordy, why don't you go to the salon, or better yet, get your nails done. You know I like you better when you look your best, use the company credit card.... and I saw a new Versace suit in your favorite store on Rodeo, go ahead and pick it up. You'll need to wear it for our next meeting with Wolfram & Hart, charge it too, I'll call you on your cell and let you know when it's safe to come back to the office."

Cordy gleefully took the credit card out of Angel's outstretched hand, reached up and placed a wet smacking kiss on his lips and rushed out the door without another word. If Angel could have blushed he would have when he noticed the look on Xander's face. He started to say something, he didn't know what but Xander interrupted him.

"Look, I don't want to know what's going on with the two of you, you may be a blood sucking vampire but Cordelia's a blood sucker, so be careful. Let's go in your office and get this over with, you're not going to be happy." The two men stepped into the next room and shut the door behind them.

~*~

Spike slept, Buffy worked the drive-thru, Willow still couldn't find Tara, Anya rang up a sale, and Dawn plotted out how she was going to get a chance to see Spike.

~*~

"Alright Xander, you've got me curious and concerned, spill."

"First off let me extract a promise......don't shoot the messenger."

If his heart could beat, it would have stopped. "It's Buffy, isn't it -- what's wrong?" he demanded

"I said promise me, you DO NOT shoot, maim, kill, torture, or bite the messenger."

Impatiently Angel growled as his eyes flickered yellow, "Agreed, spill your guts, man, and do it now."

Xander took a deep breath and began to tell Angel of the events that had happened since Buffy's resurrection. "....ever since she came back, well she's been different, I know you haven't seen her, but I'm sure you've talked to her, have you noticed?"

"Truthfully Xander, other than hello, I'm alive and I'm fine, stay out of Sunnydale, stay away from me, we haven't had a conversation at all."

"Like I said, she's different. It's like she's mad at us for bringing her back, she won't talk to anyone, she's mean to Dawn, she's mean to everyone, we've all tried to help her with her money problems and patrol with her, but she won't have it. Especially since Giles went back to England. Willow's had a real big problem with her magick lately, she's addicted to it Angel and she's trying to go cold turkey, but that's a whole different story, I'm here for Buffy, as bad off as Willow is right now, it's not as bad as Buffy...." Xander's mind wandered off as he worried about Willow.

"I said spit it out NOW!" Angel growled.

"Right, We all went to the Bronze last night when Buffy spotted three vampires dragging out a girl, she went after them and told the rest of us to have a good time, she'd be back in a few minutes. Well, a few minutes turned into fifteen and I decided to grab another stake and go out back and help her out. When I got outside Buffy staked the last vamp and then I noticed Spike was there, leaning against the wall. He started clapping and said some stuff I couldn't hear and the next thing I know Buffy's got him back against the wall with a stake to his heart...and then this is what I heard Buffy say to Spike, to SPIKE, "I said, you evil bloodsucking fiend, that I want to fuck and I want to fuck right here, right now. So unless you want this stake through some part of your anatomy that will maim you, but not kill you, I suggest you make this Slayer happy, and do what I say. NOW" -- sorry, Angel, but well, that's verbatim."

Angel sat back stunned in his chair and allowed the words Xander had just said to wash over him. "Well, did my traitorous childe do what she said?"

"Oh yeah, but she had to backhand him a few more times. It was a really ugly scene, Angel, before they were finished -- the things she said to him, I don't see how he stood it. I was sure he wanted to kill her when he put his game face back on. And when they were finished, well, before they were finished, uh, right before, she uh, well, uh..."

"Spit it out," Angel said, his rage threatening to overtake him completely

"She bit him on the neck, then it was over with and she said and I quote, "You did better last time. Next time I tell you to fuck me and you hesitate, I will kill you. Stay away from my sister, stay away from my friends, and if I see you before I want to, you'll think you got off easy with Glory."

"What does that mean 'got off easy with Glory'," Angel growled trying to fathom what he had just heard, Buffy was having sex with Spike. Buffy was having sex with his Childe. Rage coursed through him. 'How dare he, he knows I have a claim on her, my scar is the one she wears on her neck, I'm going to kill you my stupid, insolent childe, you have just fucked your sire's claim and you will pay for it.'

"Wow you really have been out of the loop, haven't you? Let me backtrack a minute and get you updated." Xander proceeded to tell Angel all about Spike's "crush" on Buffy, chaining up Buffy, the Buffy Bot, and how Glory had tortured him for hours, Buffy's rescue of Spike, the fight with Glory, Buffy's death, Spike's caring for Dawn, helping the Scoobies patrol... and, when he finished, he realized something he hadn't before. It sounded like Spike was the good guy in this sex thing and Buffy was the monster.

Xander's words slowly swept through the fog of Angel's rage. Spike loved Buffy! He thought back to the funeral and realized it was true. He knew his childe better than anyone on the planet and when Spike loved he loved with all his being, he couldn't believe Spike had acted that much like a vampire and actually chained up Buffy and then threatened to kill Dru, but then again.... when Spike loved.... he shivered as Xander graphically depicted Spike's injuries from Glory, and the way every bone in his body had broken when he was thrown from the tower. How he had begged Giles to just let him hold her until dawn came because he had failed her and wanted to die, the way he had helped everyone out while Buffy was gone and now.

Now his childe was having sex with Buffy. His Buffy, the Buffy he could never have, the one he had sacrificed everything for so she could have a normal life. His childe had taken his woman and Angel was torn between his soul and his demon. The soul had heard the undercurrent from Xander's story, that Buffy was the problem not Spike, but his demon howled in outrage and demanded Spike's blood.

Seconds turned into minutes as Xander watched the conflicting emotions pass over Angel's face. Minutes turned into ten and Angel had yet to speak, so Xander swallowed the lump of fear from his throat and hesitantly asked the enraged master vampire, "What do we do?"

As if he were slapped Angel regained his focus and very softly growled at Xander, "WE don't do anything. You go back to Sunnydale and act as if this conversation never took place. I'm going to take care of Spike once and for all," he swallowed, "I should have done this years ago. I'm going to teach my errant childe a lesson, Xander. He knows Buffy is mine. I claimed her, marked her, and broke both of our hearts so she could have a normal life. I will not allow this to continue." All of those words were spoken in game face. Xander agreed to what Angel had said and wondered if he had really done the right thing. It looked like Angelus had partially returned and he was going to do some really, really, bad things to Spike

~*~

The school bell rang and as Dawn gathered her stuff she was still wondering what to do about Spike. 'I know he's not evil, yes he's a vampire, but he's not evil.' If he had been her mother would never have loved him the way she did. 'Buffy's wrong and I don't care what she says, I'm going to visit my friend.' After all, he did take good care of her. 'And if she wants me gone so bad, maybe Dad will take me.' Dawn nodded to herself in resolve and headed straight to Spike's crypt after school.

~*~

Buffy didn't get to take a break until after two o'clock, but then she was allowed to leave for the day. She gathered her belongings and headed home. Once there she parked the car and started in the house. 'No, I'll just go to the Magic Box, get Dawn and we'll spend some quality time together tonight. I didn't mean it about Social Services!!! I'll see Spike first and get him to patrol and Dawn and I will make dinner together, do homework together, and maybe watch a movie.' Buffy smiled to herself. Surely, that'll help the relationship between them. She knew her words that morning had been harsh, but she didn't want Dawn hanging out with Vampires. Especially Spike. Buffy went straight to Spike's crypt to set up patrol.

~*~

Willow's classes were over with for the day, she hadn't seen Tara in weeks. 'How has she completely avoided me for so long? Doesn't she love me anymore?' Those thoughts were breaking Willow's heart and she headed to Tara's dorm room. 'Goddess, I love her so much, I know what I did was wrong, but please, help Tara forgive me....'

~*~

"Spike!!" Dawn yelled as she walked into the dark, musty, crypt. "Down here, Nibblet!" Dawn began the descent into the depths of Spike's crypt and didn't see or hear Buffy come in behind her.

Buffy had been just a few steps behind her sister and was preparing to throw a scene when she decided it might give her some ammunition to see what they were up to. She really didn't expect Spike's next words.

"You know better than to come here after school. Buffy's going to stake me and ground you if she finds you here! I don't want to be on the receiving end of her stake. She's been in a bad enough mood as it is for a while now, pet, without you turning up here and making her any angrier."

"I don't care, she's just a mean, old, nasty bully. You're my friend, Spike. I don't care if she says you're nothing but an evil, soulless demon. I know different, mom knew different, and Buffy used to know different." Dawn yelled indignation.

The words hit Spike like a ton of bricks, he should know, Buffy had dropped a ton of bricks on him once. He couldn't believe she had said that to Dawn about him. Buffy knew he loved the Nibblet more than anything in his unlife, more than anything in his unlife except for the Slayer herself, that is.

In a quieter tone she continued, "I miss you. You're the only person who treats me like I have a brain. You actually listen to me. You're my only friend, Spike." Changing the subject quickly so Spike wouldn't realize how hurt she really was Dawn rushed on, "My history grades have dropped since you quit tutoring me and I was wondering if you could proofread the paper I finished last night. And I haven't gotten to see Passions lately because I have to stay after school at the Magic Box, you'd think being 15 years old I could stay home alone after school but noooo, Buffy thinks I'm too stupid and immature to be alone. So please, Spike, can I stay? You can read my paper, catch me up on Timmy, and then I'll go to the Magic Box... please, Spike, I really have missed you."

Buffy had very slowly, carefully, and quietly climbed the steps behind Dawn. Hearing her sister repeat the awful things she had said about Spike made her wince. She really didn't believe he was evil.......but what other excuse could she use to keep Dawn away from him? How was Spike the Big Bad going to handle her little sister's puppy dog eyes she mused as she watched the scene from a darkened corner. 'MMMm he looks so good without his shirt on,' Spike's nostrils flared.

The Slayer was here, he could smell her.

Dawn caught the look on his face and was worried, "What is it, Spike? What's wrong"

"Well, Nibblet it seems your sister's here. I can smell her." He said as he got up and headed towards the ladder to keep Buffy from finding Dawn. Dawn grinned, "No she's not, you silly vampire. Quit trying to be a bloodhound! I'm wearing one of her shirts and her perfume. That's me you're trying to sniff out."

Spike came closer to Dawn and breathed in slowly. "You're right, lil' bit, you do smell like her. Come to think of it, your mum smelled like both of you too. I wonder if that's what it is after all."

"Huh, wonder if what's it?"

"Hmmm, oh just thinking. I've never met a human family that smelled so much like one another before. Truthfully, your sis, your mum, and you all smell exactly alike. Buffy comes through a little stronger though, must be all that Slayer blood."

"Eww, gross much? I don't want to know what I smell like, Spike, I want you to help with this paper. It's on the French Revolution, and I don't think my transition sentences are going to be good enough to get an A, unless you help me. And if I don't get an A on this paper I'm going to get a D in history this semester, and then Buffy might stake me instead of you."

Spike's eyes were darting everywhere in the crypt. Something was off, but he knew if Buffy were really there, she would have already barged in fists first. So he sighed and relented just a little bit for his Nibblet.

"Oi, lil' bit, I'll make you a deal."

Buffy's heart was pounding, she knew Spike was still searching for her with his eyes, and eewww his nose, could he really smell her from all the way over there?

"Leave the paper with me now, I'll read it and drop it into your mail box by 8:00... don't give me that look, I have been told to stay away from you and you've been told to stay away from me. Gather your stuff up, I'll walk you to the Magic Box and fill you in on Passions on the way." Dawn started to protest but he cut her off, "Nibblet, it's for the best, you don't want her mad at both of us, now do you?"

She simply sighed, gathered her belongings, and put her hand in his. "Alright Mr. Big Bad, walk me to my babysitters."

They both giggled and Buffy tried to scurry away before she realized they weren't coming back up to the crypt. She looked around the corner and was surprised to see Spike pull back a tapestry. Behind the tapestry was access to the sewer lines, and she realized he really was going to walk Dawn to the Magic Box, and probably watch from the sewer hatch until she was safely inside and into Anya's and Willow's care.

Exasperated with the vampire for showing so much concern for her sister, for her, exasperated with him showing feelings. Something she didn't even have anymore. She quickly left the crypt and went home to shower, she'd give Dawn enough time to get to the Magic Box, and pretend she didn't know about the little visit to Spike's. They would have family night tonight, and she'd stop back by the crypt after her shower to see if he'd take first patrol.

~*~

On the way back to Sunnydale, Xander kept replaying his conversation with Angel. He was terrified of the look Angel had had ever since he heard the words Spike, Buffy, and sex in the same sentence. Xander worried anxiously if he had indeed done the right thing in telling Angel instead of Willow. But at the thought of Angel beating Spike senseless, he decided that it wasn't such a bad idea at all.

~*~

Tara had not been in her dorm room and Willow dejectedly made her way to the Magic Box. If she didn't get an opportunity to speak to Tara soon, she felt sure she would not be able to live with herself ever again. She sighed as she walked inside. She had helped Anya out in the afternoons since Giles had returned to England.

~*~

Angel picked up the phone and called Cordy. He quickly told her he had to go to Sunnydale for at least a day or two, it wasn't the Hellmouth, it was Buffy. No he didn't need help, please don't tell anyone where he's going. Or why. After the call to Cordy, Angel settled into his favorite chair in the office. Pondering what he should do.

He knew he had no rights to Buffy as a man. He also knew that if it were pushed, he had no claim to Buffy as a vampire. After all, Dracula had bitten her since he had, and he didn't go all half cocked and try to kill Dracula like he was contemplating doing to Spike. A deep sigh escaped from the dark, silent, tortured man.

If he had known what the Scoobies were planning when they resurrected Buffy, he would have stopped them at any cost. Just like Spike would have done. He also knew that if he were in Spike's position, madly in love with her, 'hell I am in Spike's position,' he would be able to refuse her desperate desire for sex. But then again, Spike didn't have a soul to lose. Angel did.

He sat there in the darkness of his office and wondered what must be going through his childe's mind whenever Buffy beat him into having sex with her. It was obvious from what Xander had said that it wasn't the first time. It was also obvious from his conversation with Xander that only after repeating the story out loud did Xander realize that Spike wasn't the problem, Buffy was.

He knew his childe. Although Spike had willingly played the torture games all vampires loved with their sex, Spike didn't crave it the way other vampires did. As Angelus, as Angelus again, and even after Angel regained his soul and came back from hell, Spike and Angel had been lovers. As Angelus the matings between the two vampires were wild, frenzied, and incorporated an intense amount of pain and serious blood play. Whenever the "games" between them got beyond the place of pain for Spike, Angelus had always backed down, until he regained his soul that is.

Angel grimaced at the memories that came flooding back to him unbidden. When he had walked into the factory, before Dru and Spike knew he had lost his soul, he could see hope flit across Spike's face. Hope that he had come to offer Spike the magickal "cure" of the blood of his sire. He watched the wheels turn in his childe's head, and knew immediately, that if he had offered his blood and healed his childe, Spike would have taken Dru and left, most likely to never return to Sunnydale again. 'If I hadn't lost my soul, I probably would have done just that,' Angel mused. But none of it was to be. It wasn't Angel who walked in that factory, it was Angelus. An Angelus totally enraged, out of control, and as crazy as Dru, because the demon had been caged in for too long. Instead of helping his childe, or a big family reunion, Angelus promptly sodomized his defenseless, paralyzed childe, and beat him brutally in the process. When he finished raping the helpless vampire, Angelus had used a cat of nine tails to beat Spike into complete submission. Angelus had actually encouraged the minions to fuck his childe, a master vampire in his own right.

He watched the pain and humiliation break Spike into a million pieces and then he had taken Spike's mate of over one hundred years and claimed her as his own. An act that could have destroyed their relationship forever, or what was left of it, after Angel had abandoned them when he regained his soul.

Sighing again as he wondered what he was going to do about his errant childe and the love of his life, his thoughts flashed to the last time Spike had come to him for help. It was after he had been chipped, and the Scoobies finally let him out of Giles' bathroom. He had begged Angel for help in removing the chip but Angel had gleefully refused. Seeing not a soul in Spike, but the similarities in positions, Angel had offered Spike all the best advice he had in where to buy good blood, and some human sources who were always willing to let a vampire feed.

Spike lost his temper when Angel suggested finding humans willing to let vampires feed from them, spilling out the story to Angel about Riley and vampire whores, and finally admitting he couldn't bite a live human anyway, it activated his chip. Feeding from dead humans was worse than bagging it, according to his childe, he'd actually tried it.

The vampires had spent two days together in bed, enjoying a closeness that they hadn't shared since Angel had gotten soulfull, before Spike reluctantly returned to Sunnydale promising to look after his sire's claim on Buffy. The purpose of the claim was to forbid other vampires from turning her, feeding from her, or fucking her. They could try to kill her if they dared. Angel was scared that after Dracula had fed from Buffy other vampires would try to feed, or perhaps turn her, thinking a Slayer would become the perfect vampire, and he needed his favorite childe to protect his love.

Thinking back on that day he realized that even then he'd known Spike was in love with her, hell Drusilla knew it before either of the men had, and Drusilla was the real reason he had worried about Buffy. She hated the Nasty Slayer more than anything else in the world and turning Buffy into a vampire would be the perfect torture to both her sire, and her former lover/childe. Drusilla had helped in creating Spike, she had drained the poor boy William, but before she could give her blood to him, Angelus had interrupted. He'd taken one look at the deep blue soulful eyes and the sculpted cheekbones on the face of the man in front of him, and known he had to have him as his own childe. Angel noted it was past sunset and prepared himself for the two hour drive to Sunnydale. Still unsure what do about the situation Xander had brought to his attention.

~*~

Buffy quickly showered, put on make-up, fixed her hair, and got dressed. She was amused at herself for trying to look more like a normal woman than the Slayer for her trip to see Spike and pick up her sister. When she arrived at the his crypt she slammed in like always, stormed right up to Spike and said, "I need you to do first patrol tonight, I'm going to try to have a family night with Dawn."

She absently noticed he was correcting Dawn's paper and quickly glanced away so he wouldn't know she'd noticed.

Spike looked surprised at her entrance and quickly shuffled the papers around so Buffy couldn't see Dawn's handwriting; knowing what he was doing she smiled wickedly and said "well?"

"Alright Slayer, I'll take your first patrol so you can have a night with the Nibblet, if you want I'll do all the patrols tonight so you can have some rest too. I'll report to you at the Magic Box tomorrow. Now, if you don't mind, I'm a little busy here..."

Suddenly Buffy lunged at him, she grabbed him by the back of the head and drew him into a violent kiss. She urged him downstairs and together they stumbled onto the bed. Buffy gently pushed Spike away and carefully took off her clothes murmuring softly, "why don't you undress Spike?"

At the sight of her golden skin covered only with a couple of bruises from the night before, Spike complied, soon standing naked right in front of her. 'Bloody hell, she might actually let me make love to her--' As the thought entered his head, Buffy tackled him and he knew he wouldn't get what he wanted today. 'At least we landed on the bed and she hasn't hit me yet....'

Her hands were everywhere at once running over his chest, his abs, stroking his cock as he drew a sharp unneeded breath. As she pumped his cock with her hand, she reached between her legs and fingered herself for just a moment. Withdrawing her fingers from herself and smearing the juices onto Spike's cock she quickly impaled herself on him.

'Oh god, he's so cold and feels so good' were the only thoughts in her brain as she rode him like he was a bull, cumming almost immediately. As she began to flutter around him Spike was searing from her heat.

'Bloody hell, she's got to be the hottest human on the planet!!' The heat was torturing him, he suddenly flipped her over, trying desperately to slow the pace and have her the only way he wanted her.

She felt him change the rhythm, slowing down, drawing each stroke out into infinity and looked into his eyes. Love. 'Oh God, he loves me so much I can't take it.' Buffy immediately switched their positions and rode him hard until they both came together in one blinding flash of pleasure.

She laid on top of him trying to catch her breath, and felt his arms sneaking their way around her shoulders. She immediately sat up and got off the bed, refusing to allow herself the luxury of snuggling. She quickly dressed and looked over at Spike still naked on the bed, he was taking deep drags off of a cigarette.

She glanced at his beautiful body and desperately wanted to lay down with him and forget who and what she was, for just a minute, allow herself to forget that he was nothing but a soulless demon and take comfort in his love for just a minute, but instead she smirked at him and said, "Thanks, I needed that. I'll drop by late tonight for the report on your patrol....I told you to stay away from my friends, and I mean it."

Spike simply closed his eyes at her cruel, callous words and nodded. "You know where to find me," he shrugged as he felt his heart breaking just a little more from her cruelty.

And then she was gone. Spike finished his cigarette as the blood tinged tears rolled down his face. When he had finished crying, he finished looking over Nibblet's paper. It wasn't a bad paper at all, but like she said, her transitions needed work. After his proofreading and suggestions were finished, he went to his CD's and found something that expressed his emotions. He quickly put in the cd, punched it to the appropriate number pressed repeat and listened to Nine Inch Nails.

'My God the man knows exactly how I feel.' As he listened to the lyrics and the pounding beat of the song, he lay back down on his bed and took a nap before he went out to kill his own kind. For the woman he loved. Who hated him. He cried himself to sleep. The song played over and in over in his crypt.

i'm drunk . and right now i'm so in love with you . and i don't want to think too much about what we should or shouldn't do . lay my hands on Heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars . while the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car . nothing quite like the feel of something new maybe i'm all messed up . maybe i'm all messed up in you but this is the only time i really feel alive . this is the only time i really feel alive i swear . i just found everything i need . the sweat in your eyes the blood in your veins are listening to me . well i want to drink it up and swim in it until i drown . my moral standing is lying down . nothing quite like the feel of something new maybe i'm all messed up . maybe i'm all messed up in you but this is the only time i really feel alive . this is the only time i really feel alive i can't help thinking Christ never had it like this

~*~

Buffy was almost in a good mood when she picked up her sister. Dawn had finished her homework and Buffy quickly apologized for that morning and suggested a sister night. Dawn hesitantly agreed and the two girls decided on delivery instead of cooking and went straight to the video store.

Willow heard them talking and knew she wouldn't be welcome to share the evening with her best friend and surrogate little sister. She tentatively picked up the phone and called Tara, silently willing her to answer.

"Hello" she heard Tara's voice and relief immediately flooded through her, until the fear started creeping its way in. "Tara, it's Willow."

"W-wWillow, h-hello."

"Tara, please, I I haven't used magick in weeks and I need to apologize to you for the awful things I've done. C-can I come over?" the desperation was clear in Willow's voice and Tara knew she'd never be able to refuse her lover anything.

"Sure, I'm free for the rest of the evening. I'd l-llike to see you too." Tara shyly replied.

"As soon as we get the store closed, I'll come straight over. Tara, you don't know how much good you just did for me. I need to get some things out. I'll see you soon."

Willow's heart was lighter than it had been for weeks, lighter than it had been since before Buffy died for that matter, but she knew she still had a long road to go before Tara would ever be able to trust her again. With an iron resolve Willow vowed to the Goddess, that she would earn that trust.

~*~

The two sisters ate take out Chinese, and watched a couple of movies. Dawn snuck out while Buffy was in the bathroom and retrieved her paper from the mailbox. Spike had looked over it like he said he would and his suggestions if correctly used would definitely get her an A on the paper. She quickly snuck the paper in her book bag and returned to the couch before Buffy got back from the bathroom. The two girls had a final cup of hot chocolate before Buffy sent Dawn to bed.

As Buffy was starting to go out to patrol Willow came in. She looked better than Buffy had seen her look in weeks. She quickly went to Willow, gave her a hug and said, "you look like you've had a good night."

Willow smiled her old sweet smile and replied, "I did, I've been with Tara tonight. We had a long talk about the things I've done, and what I can do to get better. She forgave me, Buffy, things still aren't the way they were, but at least I know there's a chance now. Tara's been doing research on my, my addiction, and together we're going to find a way. With everyone's help and support of course," and then Willow broke down into tears she'd been afraid of spilling for so long. "I'm so sorry, Buffy, for everything I've done, I can't fix it, but I can keep it from happening again."

"Willow, we all love you and we're all going to help, I'm glad you worked things out with Tara. I've got to go patrol now, I don't mean to be cold, but... Slayer duty calls, you know?"

"I know, Buffy, thank you for everything, I'm going to sleep now, I think I might actually make it through a whole night." The two girls hugged once more, Willow went to bed, and Buffy went to Spike's.

~*~

As Buffy made her way through the graveyard, she had a wistful smile on her face. Replaying the night's events with Dawn she resolved that the two sisters would have one night every week to themselves. Buffy knew she was being unreasonable in many of her demands with Dawn, but she didn't know how to back down. Since becoming the Slayer, Buffy hadn't been able to back down from anything, and she certainly couldn't start now. She'd had to face the Master, Angelus, Faith and the Mayor, Adam, Glory, well the list felt endless, her enemies, the ones she had destroyed, the ones she had stopped, the ones who had gotten away.

From the shadows of the cemetery Angel watched Buffy. He saw her face turn from happy, to sad, to angry, to complete devastation. He knew she was headed to Spike's crypt. He also knew the vampire wasn't there. He'd just come back from the crypt, he had a lesson to treat his wayward childe.

Buffy's thoughts seemed to follow their own path. There was one part of her life that kept coming back to haunt her lately. Her sister. Her sister in slaying that is, Faith. Before Faith had lost control and turned to the Dark Side, Buffy smirked as the images of Darth Vader trying to lure Luke Skywalker briefly flashed through her mind, Faith had been something Buffy had never had before, a partner.

Oh, sure, Angel trained with her and fought with her, but when it came right down to it, staking vampires was not high on Angel's list. He didn't mind subduing however many there were for Buffy to stake, but he rarely staked on his own. Her friends patrolled with her frequently, as did her Watcher, but before Faith, she had never truly had an equal in this lonely battle of good versus evil. That's why she had been so gung ho to join the Initiative. There she was part of a team, each of whom could hold their own, she never had to worry that they would get killed because of her, they would have been out there with or without her.

Faith. Just the name brought tears to her eyes. She had had faith in Faith. She knew her sister wouldn't turn against her. How could she? They were the Chosen 2. God she'd loved patrolling with Faith. They'd get into more than they should, barely escape with their lives, go out dancing wildly at the Bronze, and then raid her mother's kitchen on their return. The dark haired, dark eyed Slayer had an edge that Buffy had always admired. And here lately she'd been living by one of Faith's mottos. "I'm a Slayer, I Want. Take. Have."

'My God, I've been living by one of Faith's motto's. No wonder I've been so screwed up, Faith was crazy and want... take... have was just one of the many ways her insanity manifested itself. But I don't act that way about everything,' Buffy reassured herself. 'I just act that way with Spike. Maybe having a partner again in Spike has brought this out.... Spike is the only other Slaying partner I've ever had, if anything Spike is better at it than me. He truly enjoys the fight and the kill, just like Faith. Maybe my dark side is starting to come out like Faith's had. God knows, Spike has a lot more lightness around him, than I've had lately.'

Spike. Spike was just one more thing she really hated herself for these days and here she was at his crypt, AGAIN. Slamming the door open Buffy yelled inside "Idiot vampire, are you back from my patrol yet?" receiving no answer, she settled down onto her favorite tombstone to wait for his return.

Angel had continued following her through the cemetery. He realized Buffy had sent Spike out for patrol, the idea shocked him. Patrol meant staking every vampire you came across. Angel had rarely done that for Buffy, even when she was by his side begging for assistance. Had Spike really changed so much? Was he truly practicing genocide on his own race? Angel's mind wheeled at the implications. Spike, his favorite childe, took the Vampire Slayer's Patrols, regularly it would seem. He found a dark corner to watch from, far enough away to keep from being detected and he settled in to watch Buffy wait for Spike.

'Spike, where is he? I hope he didn't get hurt tonight,' the cold fingers of fear curled around the edges of her stomach. 'He should be back by now dammit.' What if he was hurt, or killed? Panic started to grip Buffy. 'Spike can't be dead' she told herself. 'I would know it. I would have felt it the second he were staked.' The more she thought about him and wondered where he was, the worse she felt. She'd been so cruel to him since coming back. She'd been cruel to everyone really, even Angel. She'd told him in no uncertain terms that she never wanted to see him or hear his voice ever again.

Spike, the way she'd been using him, it was cruel and she knew it. At first, when they'd torn down the building, Buffy hadn't realized the implications of what they'd done. The next time she saw Spike, she realized just exactly how big of a mistake she'd made. His eyes, one look into his eyes and what she'd seen had devastated her, desire, longing, love, hope, fear, love, pain, love. She knew then that she owned him, she didn't particularly care for that feeling, but when she thought about how she'd felt when they'd been screwing, she didn't care.

She would do anything to feel that again and again and again. Anything had turned into raping Spike two or three times a week. Well, maybe rape wasn't the right word. Molestation? Was that any better? Spike never tried to touch her first, he never reached for her, he never initiated anything but conversation, and conversation was the last thing she wanted from anyone. Assault? That was the word, assault. She assaulted him two or three times a week until he was forced to defend himself by giving her what she wanted, his body.

Every time he tried to manipulate the situation to show her his feelings, she stopped him. Every time he tried to tell her how bad what she was doing made him feel, she stopped him. Every time she lost all control and needed help with anything in her life she went straight to him. When did she start to trust Spike? It was a long time ago, it started when she took her Mom and Dawn to his crypt for protection. 'I've leaned on him more and more everyday since then.'

Buffy sighed, she didn't want to think about the vampire, she wanted to hear about patrol and fuck him stupid. Again.

Spike smelled her before he saw her. His Slayer. His, bollocks! That chit wouldn't be his if he were the last male on the planet. There she was, resting that tight little bum on her favorite headstone. The moon came out from behind the clouds and shone down on her. She took his breath away, if he had any. Her golden hair and skin positively glowed in the moonlight. Pain lanced through his heart while he was looking at her, 'she looks so bloody sad. I wish she would take comfort from me, instead of fucking me to death.'

Angel sensed Spike's presence; looking around quickly, he saw the vampire approach the Slayer. He watched as Spike's expressions flitted across his face until he finally settled on indifferent. His childe's step took on a swagger, his chin tilted up, his shoulders squared, as if preparing for battle.

He was preparing for battle.

"Slayer."

"Spike."

"I got ten vamps tonight, Slayer, six newly risen, one at the Bronze, and three on the way home."

"Any other nasties out tonight, other than yourself, Spike?"

"If there were, I didn't see 'em, smell 'em, or hear 'em, and they weren't making any mischief on the Slayer's night out with her sis. Have a good time with the lil' bit did you?"

"Wonderful. We didn't fight all night. I was wondering, do you think you could do this for me every Monday?"

"What, the Slayer's going to depend on an evil, soulless demon to protect her town, her family and her friends?" came Spike's snide reply.

"Yep, one night a week, or is that too much for your sensibilities?"

"Slayer, you know damn good and well I patrol with you every bloody night. What am I supposed to do? The only thing those soldiers left of a vampire in me was the love of the fight. I can't bloody well feed from, torture, or maim humans, can I? The least you can do is let me do what I do best."

"And what's that, Spike? Uncontrollably run that arrogant, pompous mouth of yours?"

"No, you bloody bitch. Fight. Fighting is the only thing that's kept me going since I got neutered and you know it."

"Really, Fang Face? And here I was thinking it was your undying love for me," and then she knew she'd gone too far.

Without another look in her direction, Spike walked inside his crypt, he needed a moment to get himself under control. His eyes scanned the upper level of his crypt. 'Ahh, that's a good enough reason to walk off, I guess,' he immediately went to his weapons stash and retrieved a bag full of weapons and went back to Buffy. Tossing the bag at her feet and sucking up the small amount of pride he had left, he turned to leave again.

Fear lanced through Buffy, where did he go, what is he doing. Relief coursed through her when he returned, but it was short lived as he stalked off again. She did the only thing she knew to do, she provoked him again.

"What? Ooohhh, let me guess, another one of the men who loves me is going to leave?" Spike stopped in his tracks at her words. "Here's a bag of tricks, I'm leaving town. Try something new, Spike. I thought what with your being a poet and all, you could at least come up with something original. Wait, stop, I know, why don't you kill me? Bag your third Slayer, go ahead make my day. I mean come on, you can hit me now, why don't you do both of us a favor and suck me dry. I know you want to, why else do you think I bare my throat at you every chance I get?"

Buffy jumped off the tombstone and stomped towards Spike, she grabbed him by the arm and roughly turned him around, "Why else do you think I've been fucking you? Are you blind as well as dumb? Everytime we fuck I pray this is it, this is the time the demon will win and while I'm coming he'll sink his fangs into my neck and let me die in peace."

Spike just stared at her as the truth in her words and the challenge in her eyes sank into his heart. From the shadows, Angel audibly gasped. He couldn't believe what Buffy had said. She was fucking his childe and hoping to die in the process? What was wrong with her?

"Why would I do that, Slayer? If I drained you dry, I'd never get to feel your hot quim again, and besides your damn Scooby Gang would just find another way to bring you back and keep you in hell. At least while you're alive I can fuck you until you can't keep the thought of me from your brain. I know you think about me, Slayer, I know you lay in your little bed at night and think about how I make you feel. You ever wonder why it's me, Slayer? It's because you're in love with what you slay."

At Buffy's look of indignation Spike snorted. "Now, now, pet, I didn't say you were in love with me, I said you were in love with what you slay. That's one hell of a dark side you've got going, little girl. I can feel it tugging at my edges whenever you're within fifty feet of me. I can feel the darkness in you before I can smell you these days. I don't care what you say, there's something wrong with you. But then again I guess being ripped out of heaven could take away one's humanity. And no, I'm not leaving, I can't. I'm just giving you your little bag of tricks as you called it back. I sharpened your stakes, replaced the missing ones and restocked your holy water."

"Oh."

"And as for why I don't bite you when you bare your throat at me all the time? There's only three reasons to bite a human, Slayer. To kill them, turn them, or claim them. If I killed you, between the witches, the Ripper and my sire, I wouldn't make it one day. As pitiful as my existence is now, I still love my unlife. And turning you? Some of the things I love best about you are your heat and your fire and your spark. Turning you would only destroy that and in turn hurt me, and once again your friends would kill me. And as for claiming you? Why would I EVER claim a cold, selfish, unfeeling cunt, who relishes torturing me on a daily basis? If I ever claim you, you bloody bitch, I'd have to kill the love of your life, your precious Angel. Because he will fight me for his claim on you to the death, and I couldn't live with myself for the pain that killing my bleedin' poofter of a sire would do to you--"

Before his final words left his mouth Buffy launched herself at him. 'He called me a cold, selfish, unfeeling cunt, I'm going to kill that bastard.'

She landed a punch to his stomach, only to be blocked as she went for his face. The rage was pouring from her and Angel could only watch as his love tried to kill his childe. Spike blocked everything she threw at him, but didn't try to fight back. When she was finally tiring from her exertions he caught both her hands, spun her around and held her in the vampire's embrace. The front of his body was sealed to her back, he had her arms crossed around her chest holding her by her wrists, and one leg wrapped around one of hers.

"Is this really what you want, Slayer? This is how I killed my first Slayer." Spike bent his head to nuzzle her neck, his face sliding into its demon visage. He gently nicked her throat and tongued away the blood that slowly seeped out. 'Slayer blood, so pure, so perfect, the power from her blood would increase my strength ten fold.'

Buffy was quivering, not from fear or anger, from lust. The brief second his fang had grazed her skin her arousal grew into unbearable proportions, her panties were soaking, her breath was coming out in short uneven pants, and her legs were going weak. Her own arousal sickened her. And little did she know, but both the vampires could smell it. How could she feel like this for a demon? How was it possible for him to turn her on so much? She turned her head to the side completely exposing her jugular to the vampire and she begged.

"Please, Spike, please. I need it. Please, just drink me," the plea in her voice was real.

The demon inside of Spike was jumping for joy, the Slayer wanted him! He bent his head towards her neck, opened his mouth, but when his fangs reached her skin, he couldn't do it.

"Fuck you, Slayer, fuck you for torturing me. Fuck you for hurting me. Fuck you for using me. Fuck you for fucking me. Fuck you for not loving me. But most of all fuck you for what you've become. Don't EVER come to me for sex again. I love you and all you're doing is killing me slowly, if you truly want me dead, take out one of your newly sharpened stakes and get it over with, you know I won't fight back. I can't."

With that Spike threw the Slayer to the ground and walked into his crypt slamming the door.

Buffy just lay there on the ground. She quietly began to sob. Her whole body was shaking from her tears, her breath was coming in ragged gulps and finally she let it all out and began to wail in agony. "It's too much, I didn't ask to come back, I didn't ask Spike to love me, I didn't ask to lose my ability to feel alive, I just want to die."

Angel, still in the shadows felt his heart break. He couldn't believe Spike hadn't killed her when she'd begged for death. He couldn't believe Spike's chip didn't work on Buffy. He couldn't believe Spike hadn't hit her once while she had attacked him. He couldn't believe Spike would refuse to claim her, because killing him would hurt Buffy. He couldn't believe anything he had seen or heard since talking to Xander. Whatever kind of resurrection spell Willow had done to bring back Buffy had gone horribly, horribly wrong. That woman lying on the ground in the cemetery, screaming in the agony of being alive was not the Buffy Anne Summers he knew and loved.

Spike heard her crying. He opened the door to his crypt and watched her lying on the ground, screaming and begging for death to take her. He couldn't stand it. He walked to Buffy, picked her up and walked to her tombstone and settled down with her in his lap. He held her, rocked her, brushed her hair away from her face, wiped the tears from her face, all the while, purring to comfort her, murmuring it would be alright, his heart was breaking (again) from her pain.

As her wracking sobs finally started to subside purring through his words Spike said, "there, there luv. That wasn't too hard now was it? You're feeling. Right now, Buffy. I know that's why you do what you do to me, to feel. You had a good night with your sis, I walked by a few times and actually heard you laughing, you're getting better. If I could have stopped the bloody wankers from doing this to you, I would have. The problem isn't that you can't feel, the problem is the only emotions you do feel are anger, resentment, and pain. Physically, you feel everything, but all your mind will accept right now is pain, anger, and the release that sex gives you."

Buffy hiccoughed quietly and snuggled into Spike's arms, just like she had wanted to do that afternoon. "It's going to take time, luv," Spike gently said, continuing to purr, slowly rubbing circles on her back with his fingertips, to comfort this small, beautiful woman snuggled into his arms.

"Every day you get a little better. I know, I can see it and feel it. You've got to realize you were dead for three months. Things have changed around here, your friends, 'specially Red, your sister, you lost three months of her life too. Your three months were spent in bliss, in heaven, ours weren't. They were spent in misery, missing you. Buffy, look at me," she slowly raised her head from the comfort of his chest and looked into those eyes that seared her from within with the love that shined from them, "calm down, be patient, take your time. Just because you think you should feel something, doesn't mean you have to feel it. Your soul is just trying to relearn how it fits in your body, that's all."

Spike looked into her eyes, he gently smiled at her, continuing to rub her back, and purr, he took a deep unneeded breath and decided it was confession time.

"I was lying before. There's nothing wrong with you. I had a long visit with the witch the other day. No, not Red. The other one, her girlfriend, Tara. I told her what's been going on with you... no don't look at me like that, I didn't tell her about us, I told her about me being able to hurt you, and all about this lack of feeling you've got. So the witch did some research, turns out you're really you. You didn't come back wrong. You've got your real soul and everything. You're fine. Really. I can hit you, because you've got some kind of a molecular sun burn. That's all, I'm sorry, luv. I've just been trying to hurt you as bad as you've hurt me, by telling you something was wrong with you."

Shakily Buffy let out a breath and said, "I know, Spike, I talked to Tara too, but I told her about us. You're right, every day I feel something I didn't feel the day before. I just want to be like I was. I want to love my friends, be able to laugh and smile and talk and dance and have fun, but somehow I just can't. It all hurts too much. When I was in heaven, I was completely happy for the first time in like, ever. And then I was back. I lost that feeling and I know I'll never feel it again, until I'm dead. So I just want to die again. This world is too hard, too cruel, too cold, too violent. Or it is after being in heaven."

"And I'm mad at them. Couldn't they have at least checked around to see if I was in hell? I'm afraid I'm never going to be able to forgive them and if I can't forgive them, I'll never be right again."

"Well then, luv, you and I are going to practice forgiveness. I don't really know how to practice it, but we'll find a way. When we're finished you'll be able to forgive your friends. They'll have their Buffy back, and I'll have my Slayer back. I can't stand to see you hurting, luv. I'd give my unlife to make it better for you, you know."

"I know, Spike. I'm sorry for how I've been acting lately."

"Ssshhhh, pet, don't say something you don't mean. You've been having a bloody good time beating me senseless and fucking me raw. Don't lie. I just wish that once, just one bloody time, that you'd let me love you."

"I can't. You're a vampire and I'm a Slayer. I can't love you. No matter how much you love me. If, if I let myself love you, or even give you that crumb you begged me for, I'd betray everything there is to being a Slayer. You don't have a soul and it's wrong. You know it's wrong, hell, you told me it was wrong."

"I did and it is. Buffy, don't you see? I've fought the good fight, I can't ever go back to what I was before, even if I got the chip out. Don't you understand? Humans are not happy meals with legs to me anymore, haven't been for a long time, not really. Not since I kidnapped Red to make that love spell for me. Me, the Big Bad Master Vampire, spared the lives of a witch and a whelp and cried on your mum's shoulder. Right then and there my whole perception changed. The chip merely helped me change faster then I already was, is all. And you can blather on and on about how I'm an evil soulless demon, luv, it hurts but it's not true."

"WHAT?? Y- y-yYou've got a soul?"

"Slayer, don't believe everything those idiots in tweed tell you. I never lost my soul, my demon just overpowered it. William is inside of me and always has been, he just cowered away from the demon. This bloody chip weakened my demon and William's not been cowering as much as he used to. And even if all that weren't true, I'd have a soul anyway, Buffy you are my love, my heart, my sunlight, and my soul. I know you don't want to be, and truthfully, I wish you weren't. But you are. That's how you can know I will never, ever leave you. I can't survive without you, you're everything to me."

"I can't handle that responsibility, Spike."

"You don't have to, it's not a responsibility, it's just the way things work. But I bloody well meant what I said earlier. I'm not going to shag you again. Unless you can come to me in love. I don't take kindly to being used for sex by the only person I've ever loved. It's destroying me bit by bit."

"Spike, I can't, it can never--"

"Never's a long time luv, don't say something you don't mean."

"But I--"

"Slayer, not now. Not tonight. Just promise me this, no more using me for sex -- I can't take it anymore."

"I promise."

"Thank you. Umm, I didn't want you to know this, but Rupert called me the other day. Apparently the council found a lost prophecy."

"Do you have any idea how much I fucking hate prophecies?"

"Yeah, got an idea about that. You're going to hate this one even more than all the other ones though. The prophecy goes something like this: The Chosen One will die to save the world, then be resurrected by a powerful witch who will lose her way, what was once dark will become light, what was once light will become gray, what became the light will follow its own path, with a seer to guide the way, and betwixt the two, light and gray, a powerful team they become battling the forces of dark, to even out the balance within the mortal plain. The new light will regain his soul, the new shadow will seek to become light once again, and together with the refound witch they will render a power to seal the Hellmouth forever. And in the end the power they wield as the three will eternally balance the scales."

"Oh god, are you trying to tell me that we're destined to be together?"

"I don't know about the being together luv, but we're destined to fight at each other's side for eternity. Somehow you and the witch are going to become immortal, just like me, luv. It's only fitting you know, sometime in eternity, surely you'll come to love me like I love you."

"When was Giles going to tell me all this?" Buffy wondered out loud.

"He wasn't, not until the Council could determine the hows, wheres, whens, and all that about my soul. I explained to Rupert I'd never lost it, and the whole damn Council has been researching that little bit night and day, trying to prove me wrong it seems. You're tired, Buffy, let me take you home?"

"Why you? Why is it always you, Spike? Why are you the only person who can see me, the real me, flaws and all. It's always been you. You were the one who made me understand Angel and I would never be friends. You taught me what love was, long before you ever loved me. You've always looked straight into my soul and said out loud the things that everyone else, except my mom, was too afraid of me to say. Why do we have this connection? Do you think it has to do with this prophecy?"

"I don't know luv, I really don't. I'm just pleased to hear you admit we have a connection. Will you let me walk you home? Or I can drive you if you prefer."

"Yes, walk me home please. I'd like you to stay with me tonight, Spike. I'm not going to beat you senseless, I'm not going to fuck you raw," at the gleam in Spikes eyes Buffy giggled out the rest, "I'm not going to make love to you either. I'm going to lay down in your dead arms and hopefully have a solid night's sleep. Haven't had that since I've been back, you know. I think if I'm with you, I'll really get some rest. Please? Will you stay?"

"Until the end of the world, luv."

They walked hand in hand through the cemetery to the house on Revello Drive.

Angel stood still as night in the shadows. Buffy and Spike were meant to be soldiers for the powers of light, or at least gray. Spike had absorbed her abuse, her beatings, withstood her begging for death. 'If she had begged me like that to kill her, I probably would have. How could a vampire refuse the death wish of a Slayer? I almost walked over there and took her myself and I have a full-fledged soul.' And in the end Buffy had giggled like she was sixteen again. 'How does he do that? I can't leave yet. I know Buffy will be alright, but I've still got to confront Spike, prophecy or not, whether or not he loves her, I've got to make him try take her from me, if I don't, I'll fail him as his sire, and he'll forsake vampire traditions forever. That wouldn't be a bad thing, but I feel it in my soul, it's my duty to force Spike to challenge me. If I'm not mistaken that prophecy said I would go my own way with a seer. I knew Cordy's visions had something to do with prophecy.' With a thousand thoughts spinning in his head, Angel returned to his mansion to wait for the day and to brood over these new revelations. When he reached the mansion he called Cordy and left her a message to come to Sunnydale with enough clothes for the two of them to last a week, he instructed her that they would be staying at the mansion and to get whatever food she required, using the company credit card, of course.

~*~

Spike lay awake as long as he could, relishing the feel of Buffy in his arms and being in her arms surrounded by her scent. She had instantly fallen asleep, and had not stirred once. As the sun peaked over the horizon his eyes finally closed, he couldn't stay awake any longer, he only hoped she would still be in his arms when he woke up.

Willow managed to get Dawn as well as herself to school on time, without using magick. Spike woke at the sounds of morning in the house, and got a ride back to his crypt with Willow.

Anya gleefully went to work, she was expecting a new shipment today.

Tara looked forward to having lunch with Willow.

Cordy grumpily packed for herself and Angel and headed towards Sunnydale.

Giles boarded a plane for the United States, he'd had enough of the Council and wanted to be with Buffy, it'd been weeks since he'd seen her.

Xander headed to the mansion to see Deadboy and find out what was wrong with Buffy.

~*~

He didn't knock, he never had at the mansion. He went in and yelled for Angel. "So what did you find out?"

He didn't hear an answer so he went looking for the vampire he hated more than any other, yes even more than he hated Spike. He found Angel sitting against the wall he had once chained Faith to, lost in his thoughts. Xander carelessly threw a package of blood at Angel and said, "Spill your guts, Deadboy, I want to hear it all."

"I've nothing to tell you, Xander."

"Surely you've got something to show for all the lurking you did last night."

"Alright if you must know, I discovered you people tortured Buffy when you brought her back, didn't know that, did you? I discovered my favorite childe kills as many if not more vampires than the Slayer herself. I discovered my favorite childe truly and completely loves the love of my life. I found out Buffy wants to die, she begged Spike to kill her last night, and he didn't."

"Of course he didn't, he's chipped, he can't hurt any living thing."

"That's not true, he can hurt Buffy, he can drain her dry if he wants and he doesn't, but he can't harm anyone else, something happened when you brought Buffy back, his chip doesn't recognize her as human."

"Then why hasn't he killed her if she begged him to?"

"He loves her."

"Bullshit! Demons can't love, he doesn't have a soul. It's impossible, he can't love her!" raged Xander.

"Boy, shut your mouth, before I shut it for you. You don't have any idea what you're talking about, and he does love her, I saw it for myself."

"If you're talking about seeing them screw, I don't want to hear it, that's not love, tha--"

"That's not what I'm talking about and it's none of your business." Angel paused dramatically. "I didn't talk to either of them last night. I watched them. It's really simple, Xander. Spike loves Buffy. Buffy is hurting from being ripped out of heaven and is taking it out on Spike instead of you guys. That's all there is, really."

"But--"

"That's it, she's hurting. Last night I saw her take her first step towards healing. She did it in Spike's arms. She cried and screamed and begged him for death, and he held her, cooed and purred at her, talked to her rationally, made her giggle, and took her home to sleep."

"--but--"

"but nothing, that's it. That's what you summoned me here for. I've still got some unfinished business with Spike, and something tells me Giles is going to be here within a day to drop some bombshells on all of us, but really that's it. I had a terribly hard night, Xander, thanks for the blood. I'm sure I'll see you later on this week if not today, Cordy's coming down as we speak, I think we're going to need her."

"Are you su--"

"Yes, I'm sure, now, goodbye." With that Angel drained the blood bag and went upstairs to sleep. He hoped it would soothe some of the ache in his heart.

~*~

Giles had a lay over in New York and one in Dallas. He slept through both of the flights to build up the energy reserve he knew he would need when he went to confront Buffy and Spike. He called L.A. and left a message for Angel and Cordelia to meet him in Sunnydale. He called and left messages for Buffy, Xander, Anya, Tara, Willow, and Spike to meet him at the Magic Box at 5:00. He hoped he would be prepared for the emotional onslaught of seeing his slayer/daughter again, and for the turmoil the prophecy clutched in the briefcase on his lap was going to create for all the people he cared about.

~*~

At 4:30 each member of the Scooby Gang began making their way to the Magic Box.

Dawn who was already there with Anya, helped her straighten the store before Giles got there. They had just finished when Giles walked in, both girls ran to him and smothered him with hugs and kisses.

Willow and Tara were holding hands and quietly walking to the store. Both of them looked forward to seeing their friend and had no idea he was going to drop a bombshell on them. They were the next to arrive. Neither sensed the dread coming off of him in waves as he hugged them both and told them how much he'd missed them.

Xander went home and showered after a long day at work. He'd had to push it to make up for his absence the day before. He was the next to arrive, "G-man long time no seeth," was the greeting and in return he got slapped hard on the shoulder by the man who had become like a surrogate father to them all.

Cordelia and Angel showered and changed and drove Angel's car to the Magic Box, wrapped in a blanket he ran inside before he started to combust. They arrived third and warmly greeted everyone inside as Angel waited in fear for the arrival of his childe and love.

After a good night's sleep Buffy awoke to discover Spike wasn't there. Looking at the clock she realized it was 3:00 in the afternoon and that Spike had probably left right before dawn. She went downstairs, noticed the answering machine was blinking. As she made coffee, she listened to Giles tell her to go to the Magic Box by 5:00, and to be sure to bring Spike. Buffy went to Spike's crypt to tell him about the meeting. Spike finally showed Buffy why he lived in his crypt. From the lower recesses of the chamber he had access to every sewer and engineering tunnel in Sunnydale. They walked hand in hand through the sewer when they came to the proper exit, Spike wrapped the blanket around himself and climbed up, moved the manhole cover aside and dashed for the interior of the store before he combusted. Buffy giggled as she followed him, slowing only long enough to replace the manhole cover.

Spike burst through the door, followed by Buffy, who flung herself into Giles' outstretched arms. Angel started growling softly at Spike.

"Giles, I've missed you so much. When did you get back, why didn't you ask us to meet you at the airport? Did the Council figure out that damned prophecy? Did you miss me?"

"One thing at a time Buffy, let go of me, before you break your Watcher."

"Sorry Giles," Buffy sheepishly replied.

"I just got back, it was simpler to take a cab, they've figured out part of the "damned prophecy" -- Spike, I wish you hadn't said anything -- and of course I missed you, and I've got gifts for all of you to prove that I did."

"PRESENTS!!" the girls exclaimed in unison.

The men just laughed and Buffy and Spike noticed Angel and Cordelia for the first time.

"Cordelia, good to see you. Angel, I thought I told you to stay away from me, and why are you growling?"

"Giles summoned all of us, Buffy. I'll try to stay out of your way while I'm here. I'd rather not explain in front of a room full of people why my demon's growling."

"Get over yourself, Angel, we're family here, spill."

"If you insist. You stink of Spike. Spike stinks of you. He has no right to be with you, and before this is all over with I'm going to teach him a lesson. Appears as though your new lover has forgotten vampire law. You do not steal from your sire."

At the word lover, a hush filled the room, Willow looked confused then pleased, Dawn audibly gasped and kept looking back and forth between her sister and her champion, Xander swallowed hard, Anya looked pointedly at each person in the room and said "Told ya so," Tara shyly smiled at the Slayer and her Vampire, Cordelia fell back into her chair, and Giles removed his glasses and began cleaning them on his shirttail.

"Glad to see your nose still works, what do you mean forgotten vampire law? What, are you going to do, send him to vampire prison? And by the way I don't belong to you, and we're not lovers."

"Go ahead and tell yourself that, Buffy, but you can't wash the smell away from me. I know your scent as intimately as I know his and you're lovers, have been active lovers sometime in the past 24 hours."

Buffy looked quizzically at Spike, and shrugged her shoulders, "If you say so, Angel, although I have had two showers since the last time we had sex. You're wrong anyway. Spike and I are not lovers. Not anymore. We have been since I came back, but he sat me down last night and read me the riot act. No more shagging until I love him. I think he's really trying to torture me or make me beg."

"Now Slayer, you're going to make me sound like a poofter in front of all of your friends, I thought we decided not to kiss and tell." His voice was warm and joking, but he had his sire pinned down with eyes that flashed continually between gold and blue. Speaking directly to his sire he added, "You're all soul having at the moment aren't you, Peaches? Thought so, care to explain why a soul having vampire who happens to be a vampire hunter expects anyone to obey vampire law? She is not yours, Angel, not anymore. You may have claimed her, but it's been broken in more ways than one. Time has broken it, you broke it, Dracula broke it, Riley broke it, Parker broke it, I may have hedged in on your claim, but I wasn't the first, and since I haven't exactly tried to claim her for myself, I'd like to know why you expect me to fight to the death over a woman you threw away all on your own, especially when you stink like Cordelia and Cordelia stinks like you, care to explain the bite marks I can smell on her breasts?"

"WHAT????!!!" came the chorused reply as Cordelia blushed for one of the few times in her life and Angel slid into game face.

"That's enough!" Giles interrupted "I have been traveling all day to get here, I'm tired, I'm jet-lagged, I'm hungry, I've worked non-stop since I left this place on a prophecy that involves everyone in this room as well as additional research for Spike and I will not stand here and listen to all your petty squabbling.

"Spike, thank you for making Buffy see reason about your relationship, it appears that research I've been doing for you may turn out to your advantage after all. Angel, we don't really have to have you here, even though this does involve you. May I recommend you keep rumblings to yourself? If you do not, I will ask you to leave. Cordelia, you are a grown woman and you well remember what happened the last time Angel lost his soul. With that said I wish for all of you to pretend to get along, at least for tonight or leave and don't come back, ever. This is a serious matter we have at hand.

"Now, I have presents for everyone, then we're going to eat, and then we're all going to read this prophecy and try to understand it as best we can. Any problems between you two vampires are not welcome in this store or with these people.

"Tara, order up the usual research feast, make allowances for the extra mouths, and order up three days supply from Willie's as well, make sure the pizza boy picks up the blood. Everyone, gather up your gifts, they each have individual meaning."

~*~

Looking contrite but pleased, everyone greedily grabbed their presents and ripped into them, not noticing that Buffy's and Spike's weren't wrapped. Spike was the first to get his open and sat in stunned silence as he stared at what was in the box in front of him, not yet ready to share it with the group; unnoticed tears coursed down his face.

Dawn was next, her box revealed a silver bracelet with a silver charm in the shape of a key dangling from it.

Anya's gift was her necklace. THE necklace, the one that carried her powers. No one knew the significance of the gift but her, and she quietly swallowed and hesitantly murmured a thank you, and slid the necklace into her purse. Not yet willing to think about the ramifications.

Xander commented on other men buying his fiancee jewelry, and was cowed at the presents in his package. Tools. Really, really, high quality tools. Not just any kind of tools either, they were wood working tools, and the handle of each tool was carved with many strange markings that reminded him of magick.

Cordelia's gift was a crystal ball. She laughed at the irony of the gesture, then she noticed a prescription with her name on it. She picked up the bottle and gasped. It was the migraine medicine that hadn't yet been approved for sale in the USA. She leapt to her feet and grabbed Giles in a bonecrushing hug. "That's the best gift I've ever gotten, Giles. I don't know how you knew about the pain, thank you."

Tara received spellbooks; she smiled as she quickly read the titles and discerned that the books were about healing -- healing vampires, healing humans, healing demons, healing witches suffering from magickal addiction.

Willow received several volumes on magickal addiction and the ways to recover and still practice magick. She started sobbing as soon as she realized the implications. She grabbed for Tara and hung on for dear life.

Buffy still hadn't opened her package, she was trying to see what Spike's gift had been, shocked at the tears still running down his face, but decided he wasn't ready to share so she tore into her own gift. She too gasped at what was inside.

Angel was truly surprised at the turn of events from his conversation with Buffy, and was even more surprised at what Giles had given him, a spell to recover his soul permanently without the fear of ever losing it again. He stared at Buffy while the implications flew through his mind