THIS PART OF THE SITE IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED. PLEASE VISIT THE NEW FICTION ARCHIVE WHERE ALL OF JACKOFSPIKES' WIP'S ARE STILL BEING UPDATED, NEW ONES BEING ADDED, AND ALL HER OLDER COMPLETED PIECES ARE THERE TOO. I'M KEEPING THIS UP FOR NOW FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE JACK'S STORIES BOOKMARKED DIRECTLY.

Fixing the Factors is a collaborative effort of 3 authors going by the author name of ImmortallySpuffy. JackOfSpikes is one of those authors. That is why fictions, awards and nominations for ImmortallySpuffy are listed on this site.

A/N: Thanks to Tam as always for the wonderful job she does!

Buffy opened her eyes to find Spike still sound asleep and snoring gently. He snores. That’s so cute, she thought. She pulled back slowly, not wanting to wake him. She was delighted to see her stake still sticking out of his mug.

Settling back down into his arms she quietly observed his features. He was so breathtakingly handsome. The cheekbones, the full lips, and the scar above this eye. It all added up to one sexy package. Her eyes dipped down to his chest and abdomen that wasn’t covered by the sheet. Damn the vamp had abs in abundance, she thought. Down girl!

She thought back to the Will Be Done spell and the wonderful kisses shared between them. Hmmm, Lips of Spike. Almost against her will she found herself drawn to those same lips. She hesitated, checking his face to make sure he was still asleep. Just one little kiss, she thought. One slight pressing together of their lips. He was sleeping so soundly, he would never know.

She lowered her head once again, so close she could feel his unneeded breath against her face.

Just one ... little ... kiss.

Buffy screeched as the top of Spike's head butted into her face, his forehead catching her right in the nose. She cupped her injured body part while tears streamed down her face. Getting hit in the nose by accident hurt so much more than when it happened during a fight. Buffy felt instantly sorry for all the times she had punched her vampire companion in the face. She was sure that if Giles was here, he would be giving a long-winded explanation about adrenalin.

"Fuck, pet. Are you okay?" Spike asked, his voice laced with pain and concern. He gathered the sheet around his hips before gently prying Buffy's hands away from her face. "Not even bloody. I think you'll live."

"But it still hurts," Buffy whined. She groped blindly around on the bed for the corner of the sheet, intending to press the cool fabric to her face in hopes of easing the pain. "Why is there a stake in your bed?"

"Not a stake, Slayer," Spike uttered in a very strained voice. "It's bloody well attached."

"Oh...oh my!" Buffy turned a bright shade of red before she leapt from the bed, leaving Spike to clutch at the sheet that twisted around her legs. When she tried to turn around to block the sight of the now naked vampire from her vision, the tangled fabric caused her to fall ungracefully to the floor.

"Slayer?"

"Oh, God." Buffy buried her red-hot face in her hands. A muffled 'sorry' drifted back to the vampire's ears.

"It's not like you haven't copped a feel before, luv." Spike smirked when the Slayer's head popped up. He couldn't see her face, but he knew her eyes and lips had both narrowed as she contemplated his statement.

"I have never!" Buffy growled.

"And in front of Angelus and your mum, no less," Spike teased the blond girl. "Do you do that to Harris, too?"

"I have never groped you, Spike. Not even under Willow's spell and certainly not in front of Mom and Angel." Buffy blushed even redder. "Now Xander on the other hand..."

"You groped the Whelp?" Spike blurted out. "When the bloody hell was that?" The blond vampire squashed his bout of jealousy down under the guise of friendship.

"Hey, it wasn't just me," Buffy protested. "Mom, Miss Calendar, and your ex-ho groped him, too."

"Red cast a spell, huh?" Spike vaguely remembered the incident Buffy was talking about. Mostly he remembered Angelus' extreme grumpiness after he had dragged Drusilla back to the factory.

"Nah, it was Amy. You know, Willow's rat? The one whose mom wanted her on the cheerleading team."

"Give me back my sheet, luv. Then you can hightail it over to the Watcher's and check on him." Spike reached a hand over the side of the bed to grope around for the sheet. He was much surprised when he got a handful of Slayer ass instead. He gulped when he looked up to find Buffy had risen to her hands and knees in an attempt to untangle the sheet from her legs. Her pert, round butt wagged back and forth as she removed the offending fabric from her limbs. Spike yanked the sheet towards him, causing the Slayer to fall onto the floor again.

"What did you do that for?" Buffy demanded. She rose to her hands and knees again.

"Just didn't want to offend your girlish eyes is all, pet." Spike smirked when Buffy stiffened her back. "'ll pick up coffee and doughnuts on the way to Giles'. Now you better get before the cyborg gets here." He stood and grabbed his pants. Spike hurriedly dropped the sheet to slip on his jeans before he brushed past Buffy to sneak a peek upstairs to check for the all clear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike lifted the manhole cover outside the Espresso Pump when a tiny voice that he recognized as the Slayer's entered his head.

Wonder if Spike still has his piece of crap car.

My baby is not a piece of crap. It's a classic, Spike automatically answered back. He spread the blanket he was carrying over his head.

Spike, you can hear me? Buffy asked.

Clear as day. What the bloody hell is going on? Spike replaced the manhole cover to dash to the front door of the coffee shop.

I was a bit hyper after Giles told me that there's a magic broker in L.A. that might be able to help us with the bitey dreams spell, so he made me meditate. Somehow, I'm able to speak to you. How weird is that? Buffy replied.

Sounds like something else for the Watcher to research. Why didn't Rupes get the information over the phone? Spike stepped up to the counter to order the coffee and doughnuts while he waited the Slayer's answer.

Giles says the guy's really picky about who he gives information to. Do you want to pick me up here, or should I meet you at your 'baby'?

I'll pick you up, pet. Spike threw his cash down on the counter and picked up his order, all the while plotting the shortest, darkest route to the garage where his Desoto was parked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You got this car because some demon car dealer owed you kittens?" Buffy covered her mouth and giggled. "I think you should stick with the story that you dusted the owner at some demonic strip club in Topeka."

"Ha, bloody ha, Slayer." Spike smirked. "I know it happened one of those two ways. I was really drunk that year. Dru was off cavortin' with the bitch and I was lonely. I went bar hopping a lot. Drinkin', kitten poker, and strip clubs kept me from being bored."

"Did you get up on stage and dance naked during one of these drunken bouts?" Buffy asked way too innocently.

"Never!" Spike snarled. "I'm the Big Bad. I wouldn’t do something like that, no matter how drunk I was." He crossed his arms while he glared at his giggling companion.

"You know, Willow and I did a report on stripping in the 50's and 60's for Professor Walsh's class." Buffy glanced sideways at the blond vampire. "I told her those pictures looked familiar."

"What?" Spike's jaw dropped. "They promised me that the negatives were all destroyed after I threatened to disembowel them."

"Spike..."

"Wait till I get my hands on those slimy little fuckers," Spike snarled.

"Spike, I was just kidding! Are you serious? There really are naked pictures of you floating around out there?"

Spike turned to study the giggling girl, "Okay, maybe there are, but you’re the only person that knows. Please don't tell Angel or Harris; I'm beggin' you."

"Hmmm, blackmail material always makes for a happy Slayer," Buffy cooed. She reached over to stroke the irate vampire's upper arm. "Let me think on that one and I'll get back to you." She giggled when his plump lower lip stuck out in a pout entirely too adorable for his Big Bad image. "Pouty."

Spike stared at Buffy in shock. He had never been on the receiving end of flirty Buffy except while under Willow's spell. He gritted his teeth in denial that she was actually flirting with him, bit back the response that drifted through his mind, and simply growled at the Slayer.

"Spoilsport." Buffy bounced out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She opened the door of the magic shop for the vampire and waited until he bolted through it under his smoking blanket. Shutting the door, she studied the smoke filled room, coughing slightly from the heavy smell of incense while she waited for Spike to stomp out his blanket.

"May I help you?" A very slender, dark-skinned woman ducked her head as she stepped out of the back room. She smiled warmly as her customers stared up at her in surprise.

"You're so tall," Buffy blurted out in astonishment. She slapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I promise my mom taught me better manners than that."

"I'm quite used to it by now, my dear. I can see you meant no insult." The woman brushed her hair out of her face while she smiled at the two blonds.

"Um, we're here to see Pete. Rupert Giles sent us," Buffy said hopefully. She shrieked and stepped closer to Spike when what appeared to be a wooden statue of a wizened old man smoking a pipe opened its eyes. Buffy calmed down when she felt Spike pull her body against his in comfort.

"Sorry, Lord Jamison," Pete murmured, "I didn't mean to scare your mate. Lovely creature that she is. Junia, my queen, help me down and lock the door. I must talk to these two without interruption." He smiled up at Junia as she lifted him down to the floor. Pete waved the two blondes over to a table in the back of the shop.

"The name's Spike." The vampire kept his body between the Slayer and the little man who appeared to know far too much about him. Without even realizing it, his protective nature went into overdrive at the perceived threat to his mate

"We're not really mated," Buffy said softly while she sat in the chair Spike pulled out for her. She nodded her thanks to him.

"Yes, yes. Rupert explained it all to me over the phone," Pete exclaimed. He waved Spike into the chair next to Buffy. "This is a very, very delicate matter that we are about to discuss. I just wish Rupert had mentioned that the dreams involved a Master Slayer and a Master Vampire."

"M-Master S-Slayer?" Buffy stammered. "How does one become a Master Slayer?" She glanced sideways at Spike where she saw the same question in his eyes.

"Well, you can achieve master status in a number of ways, my dear." Pete pulled a book out of a large haphazardly stacked pile. "A couple of them include a few vile things that you don't really need to know about, but one way is to survive your eighteenth birthday and the ritual. You passed with flying colors."

"What ritual, pet?" Spike's voice took on a dangerous edge.

"You and your young lady can discuss that later." Pete flipped through the book to the page he was looking for. "Of course, being the mate of a master vampire tends to speed up the process. It's not a tangible title, just something that shows off your experience and persistence. You are a persistent one, aren't you?"

"She is at that," Spike chortled proudly. "Even survived the Order of Taraka when I threw them at her."

Pete's head popped up and he blinked at the blonde’s revelation. "Really? That is quite interesting. Now, about a spell that would manifest a mating from a dream. I know of only one that falls within the parameters that Rupert spoke of. It uses a talisman, usually a tapestry or other piece of embroidery, which binds two souls together."

"That's probably Dru's handiwork," Spike announced. "And I'll have you know 'm an evil vampire, mate. I don't have a soul." He glanced over at Buffy to make sure she didn't have an adverse reaction to his announcement. He was quite pleased to see her roll her eyes at him.

"Lord Jamison, if you didn't have a soul that crystal hanging above the front entrance would have barred you from entering my store." Pete pointed towards the huge stone that hung from the ceiling at the front of the shop.

"How can he have a soul?" Buffy asked quietly as she remembered Tara's words from the day before.

"That I am unable to tell you." Pete waved at Junia, who brought him an address book from behind the checkout counter. "The seer that sold me the very crystal that allowed your entrance into my shop has her own store in the mall." He wrote an address on a piece of paper that he slid across the table to Buffy.

"What about the dream talisman?" Buffy asked. She handed the paper to Spike, who glanced at the address before stuffing the note in his duster pocket.

"Until you have the talisman, you will be mated. Once it is destroyed, the claim will cease to exist," Pete answered softly. "Jania, my queen, I've given these young people all the information I have. It's time for them to go see Tamara at the mall."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm hungry, Spike." Buffy's stomach growled loudly as if to emphasize its owner's statement. "Let's get some lunch before we hit the crystal store." She dragged the reluctant acting vampire towards the food court.

"What looks good, pet?" Spike asked. He glanced around at the different restaurants. "Pizza, burgers, chinese, tacos."

"Oh, tacos! The Taco Barn use to have some really spicy sauce that you'd like." Buffy pointed out the food counter in question and pulled Spike over to it. "Do you still carry that extra spicy hot salsa?" she asked the clerk eagerly.

"Buffy, is that you?" The clerk darted his eyes back to the kitchen before he pulled off his hat. "I haven't seen you since the incident with the gym. How have you been?"

"Wow, Pike. It's so good to see you." Buffy stared at the young man in front of her. "It's been almost four years. You look good."

"You moved and I never heard from you again," Pike said. He smoothed his hair back in an attempt to make it look neater. His eyes darted to Buffy's companion and he forced himself not to take a step back from the weight of the blue eyes resting on him.

"Yeah, I kinda got caught back into the slaying," Buffy muttered. "Hard not to in Sunnydale." She glanced over at Spike, and she almost giggled at the menacing glare that the vampire was giving the human. Buffy smacked Spike on the arm. "Stop that. You're scaring him."

"Lay off, Slayer. If the boy would take our order instead of chit-chattin'..." Spike's eyes flashed gold at the human male.

"Oh, right. Your order." Pike jammed his hat back on his head while he moved to the cash register. He took Buffy and Spike's order and then bustled around getting it ready. After giving them their food, he watched as the two blonds walked over to one of the tables. He was disappointed when Buffy sat down with her back to him; he had wanted to speak with her.

Pike watched from his spot behind the checkout counter while they focused only on each other. Eating seemed to be an afterthought given the apparent intensity of their conversation. He remembered a time when he would have laughed at the posturing male, back when he had attitude and snark. When he was the cool guy. Catching his own reflection in the stainless steel door of the refrigerator, he realized those days were long gone. With a sad sigh he turned to the next person in line and asked for their order.

“Tell me about the ritual, pet,” Spike returned to the subject of his earlier concern.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, Spike. So if I’m gonna tell it, you have to promise to hear the whole thing and not go off all damage bound,” Buffy cautioned him.

Buffy gazed around food court, trying to think of the right place to start. When she spotted a familiar face, she froze.

Spike watched as the Slayer gathered her thoughts. When she suddenly paled and stiffened, Spikes reaction was automatic. There was no way that the Slayer was acting that way because of a threat of danger. This was some sort of emotional threat to the girl herself. He slipped out of his seat and moved to her side. Crouching, he gently gripped her hand. “What is it, pet?” he asked as he scanned the crowd searching for some sort of clue to what ever it was that was upsetting his…friend.

She searched his face, he hadn’t changed at all. She felt the tears burn her eyes as he spoke to the person he was with. When the other person came into view, Buffy’s breath caught in her throat.

He was with a woman. A very pregnant woman.

As Buffy watched he leaned in and kissed the soon-to-be mother. Her heart felt like it was breaking.

Spike followed her gaze. She seemed to be looking at a man and a pregnant woman who, judging by the lip lock they were sharing, seemed to be a couple. But why the sight of them was upsetting his slayer, he had no clue.

“Buffy? Buffy, luv, look at me,” he prodded her with gentle insistence.

“After I burnt down the gym at Hemery, mom and dad had me committed because I told them what I was and that I’d burned down the gym because it was infested with vampires,” Buffy told him quietly. Unemotionally. Her eyes were unfocused, her voice shaky, but she continued anyway. “Straight afterwards dad divorced us and mom and I made the move to Sunnydale. At first he kept in touch with me. Did I ever tell you that I wanted to be a professional ice skater?” she asked him, finally looking at Spike directly. When he shook his head cautiously, she went on with her story, “Well dad and I had this thing where every year on my birthday he’d take me to the Ice Capades. It was ours, you know?”

Her voice was laced with such desperation that Spike was finding himself hard pressed to handle the addition to the already almost overwhelming emotions the claim was sending his way. But she needed him.

He would cope.

Gently brushing her hair from her face, Spike smiled. “I know, kitten. Special time with your dad.”

“When we moved to Sunnydale, he called at first. But weekends started to get cancelled and then stopped all together. Soon, there was only our day on my birthday. Until the year I turned eighteen.”

She looked so small, so sad and defeated that Spike started to internally panic. He could feel the power of her emotions and he felt like he was drowning. Taking a deep breath he did something that he had never done before.

He called on William.

A calmness swept over the blond vampire. A connection snapped into place. Picking the distraught girl up, he sat in her seat and held her on his lap. Rocking her gently, he urged her to continue.

“He didn’t even call. He sent flowers, a note, and the tickets; like he was replaceable. I guess I never realized that to him, both of us were.” She pressed further into his embrace as her tears started to fall.

“What’s brought all this on, pet?” Spike softly asked.

Without moving her head she whispered a question of her own. “Do you see the man with the pregnant girlfriend?” she felt his nod. “Spike, meet dad.”

Spike’s growl was an automatic response. The overload of emotions made it a bit of a task to get himself back under control. Strangely enough, Buffy was comforted by his protective nature.

“Do you want to talk to him?” Spike asked once he had managed to muzzle his inner beast.

“No, I don't think I want to do that at all. He obviously doesn't care to see me, so why should I care about seeing him?” she responded bitterly.

“Cause you're you, Pet. You have a good soul, Buffy. It's good to care and it's a part of life that sometimes caring will hurt, you just don't let it break you....don't let it have more of you than it should.”

She lifted her gaze as he spoke. His voice soothing as his words hit a resonance deep within her, helping to dry her tears. She smiled shakily. “You’re good at this.”

Tilting his head to the side, he asked her what she meant.

“This,” Buffy replied moving her pointing finger back and forth, between them. “You know the right words to say to put things back in perspective. Besides, it’s not like I don’t have a father figure. I have Giles, and he’s been more of a father to me than my own has.”

“Exactly, luv, and let’s not forget that he loves you very much. And he's British, so he gets even more bonus points ‘cause everyone knows Englishmen are dead sexy.” He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Last time I let you watch Austin Powers, blood breath!” she rolled her eyes as she stood and began making her way in the direction of the crystal shop.

Jogging to catch up with the fast moving slayer, Spike felt a playful need to push the envelope. “Yeah? Well, if you think your getting ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ as the wedding waltz, you got another think coming.”

“Oh, and your choice was so much better?” she raised an eyebrow. “Does ‘The Twelfth of Never’ even have a beat?”

“That was the spell!” he responded, indignantly.

~~~~~~~

Spike pulled out the piece of paper the old magician had given them as he entered the shop. Showing Buffy the note, he pointed out the name of the woman they were meant to talk to.

“Welcome,” a bouncy brunette said to them in greeting. Her short bob lived up to its name as it seemed to move on its own around her sweet heart shaped face. “I’m Tamara. Pete rang, you must be Buffy and…um…Spike?” At their mutual nods, she swept her had towards a curtain at the rear of the shop. “Why don’t we step out of the way?”

As the three of them headed towards the curtain, Buffy looked idly around the shop. A large blue crystal caught her eye and her feet moved her in that direction. As she stared at the crystal, she was startled when Tamara spoke, “Is that the type of crystal they used to distract you so that you could be prepared for the ritual?”

Buffy gasped, “How did you…?”

“What ritual?” Spike snarled. He recognized the Azurite crystal immediately. Though normally a stone that could help a person connect with their spirit guides or aid healers, people meditating and psychics in their various fields, there was only one ritual that he knew of that involved slayers. Grabbing the Slayers upper arms and forcing her to look at him, he demanded an answer to his question, “Tell me the watcher did not put you through that barbaric ritual?”

“Let’s take this in the back, shall we?” Tamara once again got them heading towards their destination.

Spike followed them through the curtains, his body stiff with suppressed fury. He could not believe that the watcher was capable of this sort of duplicity. Another watcher, yes. Or Giles and the other slayer, maybe. But Giles and Buffy? It just bloody boggled the mind. He refused to think about what might have happened, because when his mind had wandered in that direction an overwhelming fear and sense of rage pressed down on him so firmly that he felt claustrophobic.

A gentle hand on his arm brought Spike’s attention back to the room.

Buffy was thankful for the claim when she realised that none of Spike’s very obvious anger was directed at her, but she’d never forgive herself if the fledgling friendship that was growing between Spike and Giles was harmed because of her. “He couldn’t go though with it. He got fired over it, Spike. The council fired him for loving me as a daughter. Blame the council all you want, but don’t blame Giles.”

Spike sighed heavily. He put a lid on his emotions. Damned chit could get him to do anything.

Turning to the other female in the room, he focused his attention on the reason they were here in the first place. “Can you tell me how I got a soul, and why I’m not bloody catatonic with guilt?”

Tamara smiled. “You have your soul because you made the choice to change sides. Your soul stayed close to you over the years, waiting for the opportunity to present itself and join you. You decided of your own free will to actively change your nature, thus allowing the soul to return. As to your second question, I have one of my own. Why would you feel guilty for following your nature?”

“Well, you know…all the killing and the deaths and the responsible for your own actions thingy,” Buffy answered, slightly confused that someone outdid her in the ‘I’m-oblivious-girl’ game.

“But the soul isn’t responsible.” Tamara was at a loss to understand the point the young blond was making.

“No, but the demon is. So shouldn’t the soul be making the demon feel all guilty or something?” Buffy tried to explain her thoughts.

“Why on earth would it do that?” the astounded seer responded. “The soul wouldn’t blame the demon for following its nature. It’s far more likely that the soul is celebrating the demon’s conversion. Do you have any idea how rare this is?”

“I don’t think we took into consideration the difference between making a choice and being cursed, pet,” Spike commented mildly. “The real question is - am I gonna lose it if we break the spell?”

Buffy looked horrified at the thought.

Tamara considered both of them carefully before apparently coming to a decision. Moving swiftly to the desk in the corner, she picked up a business card. “Look I don’t usually do this, but you guys need direction and I’m not the one you need.”

Holding out the card to Spike, she continued, “You need to go to that address and ask to speak with Lorne. He’s a Pylean Empath demon, and he’ll be able to guide you.”

~~~~~~~

Buffy was totally bemused, sitting at the table in the dimly lit bar, watching as the green demon ushered a protesting Spike onto the stage. Lorne had accosted them as soon as they had entered and had immediately grabbed the blond vampire, insisting that he sing for him.

The slayer felt sorry for Spike, but was also thankful that it wasn‘t her on the stage. He threw her a horrified look and she had to bite back the giggle that surfaced as she waited to see what his selection would be.

He stood over the table containing the song list for several minutes before suddenly shooting her an evil grin and pointing out his selection to the enthusiastic bar owner.

Lorne quickly hit a few buttons and hurried down to sit at the table with her. He tapped his fingers in anticipation, waiting for the song to start.

When the music began to play, Buffy’s eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell open as the vampire on stage sang the opening lyrics.

It must have been cold there in my shadow,
to never have sunlight on your face.

His smirk was only partially hidden behind the microphone as he sang along, adding little dramatic gestures towards her. The slayer was thanking the powers that it was only them, Lorne, and a single bartender in attendance because she knew her face was flushed with embarrassment.

She could see the demon beside her was mesmerized by the show on stage, his dreamy expression wigging her out a little. Damned demon ogling her vampire, she pouted. Looking back at Spike’s antics, she couldn’t help but smile. He always kept things interesting.

His song finished, the bleach blond jumped down from the stage and swaggered his way to the table, the Empath clapping wildly as he approached.

“Bravo, my little kumquat! Voice like an angel. Thank the heavens not like the Angel, ‘cause that’s a whole other tune,” he said shuddering heavily.

“Oh, so you’ve heard of Angel.”

“Sweetie, there’s heard and heard of. I’ve done both and trust me, my hearing has never been the same. Have a seat slim, we‘ve got lot’s to dish.”

Spike sat in the chair next to Buffy across the strange demon. “Did you like your song, kitten?” he asked with an unabashed grin.

“I can’t believe you did that. I so wish I had a camcorder to record the moment for future humiliation,” she sighed wistfully.

Chuckling, the vampire assured her, “That’s the only public appearance you’re getting, pet.”

“You newly mated couple are always so cute,” Lorne gushed.

Buffy and Spike exchanged amused glances. “Um, we’ve been trying to tell everyone; we’re not really mated. It’s a spell.”

“Oh pumpkin, I can see that spell a mile away, but it’s still cute. Now what is it that you want to know?” he asked already knowing the questions they sought answers to.

“Well, Tamara from the crystal shop at the mall sent us. She told us that you were the one to ask about Spike’s soul. It seems that it’s come back to him and we’re worried when- or if- the spell breaks, that he could lose it again.”

He shook his head and smiled gently as he spoke, “No sweetness, there’s no risk of that, the soul returned all on it’s own.” Turning to Spike he continued, “It’s back because of your actions, not because of the spell. You kids have a lot on your plate right now, with trying to correct all the badness surrounding you, but you’re doing a fantastic job of it. You’re definitely on the right path and making some wonderful decisions. Just keep going the way you are and things will be fine.”

Buffy and Spike shared relieve glances. “Thank you. It’s a relief to know. By the way, can you tell us anything more about the looping day? Did you see anything about that?” she asked anxiously.

“I saw a lot, mostly that you guys are doing a terrific job. I’m positive that things are going to turn out perfectly. No worries. Hey, pale and creamy, how about you go grab us a couple of drinks from the bar? My treat.” The demon grinned at the scowl the vampire shot him before complying and moving off to get the drinks. “He’s quite the stud muffin, isn’t he?” he asked, amused when her eyes followed her companions movements.

“Yeah,” she replied dreamily before mentally shaking herself. “I mean, huh? We’re just friends.”

Rolling his eyes, the singing demon answered sarcastically. “Right, and friends check out their friends cute hiney’s when they walk away.”

“What? No. I mean…yeah, he’s cute, but we’re just friends. Really.” she babbled with her cheeks flaming.

“Honey bun, it’s okay. I just wanted to let you know that things will turn out fine when all this is over. You don’t have anything to fear. Men have let you down before, I could sense that right off, but he won’t be one of them. You can trust him.” His kind expression soothed her and she felt herself relaxing for the first time since they walked in the door.

“What does that mean exactly?” she asked quietly, afraid vampire hearing might overhear something potentially embarrassing.

“Some things you just have to work out for yourselves,” he replied quickly as Spike returned to the table.

They finished their drinks with the funny Empath, sharing some of the things they had learned so far. He joined in, confirming some of their suspicions about the spells used and assuring them once again they were on the right path. Finally they said their goodbyes and left the bar through the alley entrance where they had left the Desoto parked.

As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, they stopped short. Coming up the alley were two familiar faces, both scowling at the out-of-towners.

“Buffy.” The broody vampire stared in shock at the scene in front of him. His former love with his unruly grandchild, his pale hand resting comfortably at her back. Angel growled at the smirking blond. “Spike.”

“Ugh, of all people to run into,” Buffy said rolling her eyes at the couple in front of her. “I’m really not in the mood, Angel.”

“Oh well, you’re not in the mood. I guess that makes everything fine then.” Shaking his head, he continued to glare at the couple in disbelief. “I can’t believe I was actually going to drive to Sunnydale to say I was sorry, but here you are just hour’s later- still in town and with Spike. What the hell is that about?”

“It’s none of your business, Angel. As a matter of fact, I did leave LA, but Spike and I had to come back for some business, so if you’ll excuse us?”

The broody vampire moved to block their exit at the same time Spike asked, “Apologize for what?”

“It’s nothing, Spike. Angel just needed to do a little venting, nothing to get excited over.” she said quickly, placing her hand on his arm soothingly.

Cordelia huffed behind the group, “Angel, we’re on a job remember? The job you called me back early from my vacation to do? Ringing any bells?”

“Not now, Cordelia,” the dark vampire replied angrily.

The brunette flung her arms out and stomped her foot in frustration. “Not now, Cordelia. Shut up, Cordelia. Your opinion doesn’t matter, Cordelia. This is such complete crap! First; it’s all about Buffy, then the psycho slayer comes into town and everyone has to drop everything to coddle her. Now little Miss Perfect rolls in again and it’s all about her. Who’s the one that’s been busting her ass trying to make a things work around here, huh?”

Angel turned to the fuming brunette and growled through gritted teeth, “Not now.”

“I have to agree with Cordy, just pretend like you never saw me. Come on, Spike, let’s go,” Buffy said grabbing his arm to pull him to the car.

The dark vampire turned back to look at Buffy incredulously. “What the hell is this? Is he the one you were talking about?”

“What?” The slayer looked at her ex in confusion.

He dropped his voice to a near whisper even though he knew the other vampire could hear. “When you said you had found someone new? Please tell me you didn’t mean Spike.”

Crossing her arms, she looked at him defiantly, “And if it is? It’s none of your business.”

“Like hell it’s not!” He moved closer to the couple, his stance menacing.

Spike stepped around Buffy, glaring at the older vamp. “Back the hell off Angelus.”

Cordelia‘s expression turned horrified as her glaze moved around the group. “Angelus? Oh, shit! When the hell did he get a happy?”

Angel turned to hiss at her once again. “Shut up, Cordelia!”

“Oh, so that’s how it is. If you’re a slayer then you can just do whatever you want. Killed a guy, kidnap another, threaten to torture him but it’s okay cause, hey…slayers! But heaven forbid anyone else wants to get a word in edgewise.”

The two blonds watched in amusement as the broody vamp and irate ex-cheerleader continued their heated exchange. The buxom brunette stood her ground, forgetting her earlier fear of a soulless boss as her anger at his treatment of her took over.

Suddenly, the side door of the bar opened and Lorne poked his head out. Ignoring the arguing couple, he spoke to the blondes in front of him. “Oh, by the way, when you get the talisman you’ll be able to take care of that claim thing, and then you crazy kids can mate again whenever you feel you’re ready,” he finished before closing the door once more.

Cordelia and Angel were face to face, screaming in anger when the Empath’s words registered. Angel vamped in outrage, ignoring the girl in front of him when she screamed in horror.

Angel swung around to the blond couple and roared, “What claim?” seconds before he looked down at the stake barely sticking out of his chest. He had just enough time to turn to the girl behind him and gasp “Cordy?” before his body crumbled to dust.

Buffy felt sorry for the shocked girl. Approaching her cautiously, she plucked the stake from her loose grip. “It’s okay, Cordy. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but in the morning everything will be just fine. I promise,” she assured her, leading the dazed girl into the bar and Lorne’s comforting arms.

*****

The drive back to Sunnydale was made in comfortable silence, both lost in the information they had discovered. Snuggling close to Spike, Buffy let herself drift off to sleep, the long day finally catching up to her.

He shook her gently awake when they returned to Giles’ apartment, laughing as she yawned and stretched before climbing from the car. They had rounded the sidewalk and were halfway across the courtyard before they noticed the figure propped against the watcher’s door. Their laughter stopped abruptly as they faced the irate soldier.

“Riley, what are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you. Giles said you ran out to do a few errands, but I’ve been waiting for hours. Now you’re laughing and hanging around with Spike? What the hell‘s going on, Buffy? You didn‘t even let me know you were back from LA.”

“We were running errands.” It wasn’t a lie, per se. “Spike was helping me.”

“Oh…Spike was helping you. That explains everything,” he snarled turning his glare to the vampire.

Spike gritted his teeth in irritation at the soldiers mocking tone. He was afraid to step into the argument, not knowing if Buffy would appreciate or resent his interference, but he didn‘t know how much more of the boy‘s mouth he could take, especially when he knew the git was upsetting his…friend.

“Buffy, I’d like to know exactly what it is about certain vampires that makes it alright not only to not dust them, but makes you want to be around them at all. They’re monsters, no better than anim-” he stopped ranting abruptly and stood frozen.

“Riley?” she asked, looking concerned when he didn’t answer. “Riley, are you okay?”

He turned and began to walk away stiffly, ignoring her calls to him.

“Okay, that was seriously wiggy. What do you think that was about?” She looked at Spike, hoping he had an answer for her soon-to-be-ex’s behavior.

“Don’t know, pet, but that was strange even for Captain Cardboard. Think we should check it out?” he suggested.

She nodded, conscious of a faint tingling as she began to trail after the departing figure. “Yeah, I don’t remember seeing Riley this late since the loopy day started. Do you think this has been happening every night?”

Spike shrugged. “Can’t be sure, pet. Let’s see where he’s headed and maybe we can figure out what’s happening.”

They trailed the AWOL soldier through the streets of Sunnydale, his rigid stance showing no concern for being captured by the military group he had been hiding from, his gait almost robotic.

They had made it into the woods when Spike grabbed her arm, halting her progress. Her questioning eyes turned back to him.

He pointed to where Riley had just disappeared into a cave almost hidden in the darkness. “That’s Adam’s cave.”

The tinglies got worse and her expression became distressed as her mind worked though the implications of why Riley would be walking into Adam’s lair. “That can’t be good. You feel them too?”

The vampire nodded as he rubbed his hands on her arms reassuringly. “We’ll figure it out, kitten, but we’re running out of time tonight.”

“Okay, let’s check in and let Giles know we’re back, then we can try to find out what’s going on.”

******

Falling back into the bed, Buffy let out an exhausted sigh. The day had thrown her one curve after another, constantly keeping her on guard and off kilter. She would be glad to see this one end.

Spike crawled in bed beside her and they curled up together, both drifting off to sleep almost immediately.

Buffy’s last thought before succumbing to her tired body’s need for rest was that she had never felt more at peace than in the blond vampire’s arms.

******

Buffy awoke in the same position as the previous morning. Opening her eyes to take in Spike’s serene expression, she marveled at the beauty of his face. She bit her lip, contemplating her failed kiss from the day before.

She could never be brave enough to make the first move while his bright blue eyes watched her, but if she could make a small gesture, just to let him know she was interested, then maybe he could take it from there.

She gently eased in closer, not wanting to wake him too soon. Licking her lips and trying to quell her churning stomach; she lowered her head until her lips were just a whisper from his.

Just kiss him already, she chided herself.

Taking one last deep breath, she pressed her lips against his.

Buffy awoke in the same position as the previous morning. Opening her eyes to take in Spike's serene expression, she marveled at the beauty of his face. She bit her lip, contemplating her failed kiss from the day before.

She could never be brave enough to make the first move while his bright blue eyes watched her, but if she could make a small gesture, just to let him know she was interested, then maybe he could take it from there.

She gently eased in closer, not wanting to wake him too soon. Licking her lips and trying to quell her churning stomach; she lowered her head until her lips were just a whisper from his.

Just kiss him already, she chided herself.

Taking one last deep breath, she pressed her lips against his.

~~~~~~~

As Spike drifted in that place between dreams and waking, the part of his mind that was more awake than asleep registered the kiss. Soft lips pressed against his. Buffy lips. Lips of Buffy.

Wallowing in the gentle exploration of her lips, the part of his mind that didn't want to be manipulated, that ruthlessly refused to see the Slayer as anything more than a friend- albeit a very good friend- was still asleep. The waking part of his brain had absolutely no problem snogging this girl. On the contrary, this part really, really wanted to kiss his mate.

Buffy allowed herself to be saturated by his emotions, deepening the impact of the kiss on her. It intoxicated her. She'd never experienced anything like it before. She wondered briefly if she should feel guilty for taking advantage of his vulnerable state, but the feelings that were coming through the bond negated any concerns she might have had.

Strong arms wrapped around her, holding her in place. As their lips moved in time to some internal music, she felt him waking. His love exploded through her, a mushroom cloud of emotion saturating every part of her. She was so overwhelmed by the depth of his love that she almost missed the gamut of emotions that followed. Surprise. Shock. Regret. Terror.

Spike pushed her away from him, grabbing the sheet and moving with superhuman speed out of the bed and over to the other side of the chamber. "Buffy, I'm sorry. I don't know how that happened. I didn't mean to take advantage…I'm so sorry, pet," he babbled incoherently.

"Spike," she called for his attention.

"You have to forgive me. I'm a bad rude man." His desperation and confusion were clear in his voice.

"Spike," she called his name louder. She was starting to get a little pissed. She'd been happily enjoying the best kiss she'd ever had and his panic attack was spoiling her mood.

He hurriedly pulled on his jeans as he implored her to give him a second chance. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her friendship over something as stupid as his lack of control while sleeping. He was desperate to fix it. He just had no idea how to do that. He didn't care about the tears that were slowly making their way down his cheeks. For once, he was happy about the bond between them, because there was no way she could fail to feel his deep remorse. He found himself praying to whoever would listen that this golden goddess would find it in her heart to forgive him.

"I didn't mean to kiss you; I don't know how it happened…you have to believe me…"

"SPIKE!!!" Buffy shouted irritably. Her frustration at his reaction was escalating. "I kissed you, you idiot."

"Huh?"

Buffy felt his shock. She slowly started to move towards him as she expanded on her earlier statement. "You didn't do anything wrong. I kissed you." She felt like she was trying to coax a frightened puppy out from a hiding place.

She felt the change in his emotions the moment he registered her words. Fear subsided and something else took its place. 'Whoa! Guess Egypt is pretty this time of year,' she thought with some amusement.

"Right then," Spike stated briskly. Picking up his t-shirt, he quickly finished dressing. There was no way that the Slayer had meant to kiss him in any way other than friendship. No way. His friend had given him a friendly kiss good morning and that was all there was to it. End of story. "Let's head off to the Watcher's, then, shall we?"

"But…"

"Need to hurry, pet. Don't want Mr. Bits to catch you here. I'll take the sewers," Spike announced his decision, snatched up his mug, and took off through the passages. He wasn't running away. Really.

Buffy watched him go with amusement. Picking up her stake from him, she turned to the ladder and made her way up and out into the sunshine.

She walked quickly, lost in thought. Try as she might, she couldn't come up with a plausible reason for Spike's reaction. She knew without a doubt that he was in love with her. His feelings had already given him away. She also knew that her own feelings towards her mate were definitely heading in that direction. She was well and truly past the 'I hurt when he hurts' stage. In a short time, he had managed to make her re-evaluate all her previous misconceptions about what love felt like. She already loved him, but she wasn't sure if she was in love with him yet.

Her thoughts drifted to Drusilla and memories of her cryptic messages flashed through her mind. They had to see the truth, they had to follow their hearts and not deny…

Suddenly, it all seemed to click into place. Dru had told her to follow her heart. Dru had done a spell bonding Buffy and Spike as mates. Dru wanted them to fall in love.

The tingling exploded from her bite mark. It was the strongest reaction it had given so far. She as suddenly able to pin point exactly where Spike was and what he was thinking at that moment. He was already at Giles', and apparently he'd felt the tingling, too, because the 'bloody hell' that echoed through her was accompanied by feelings of surprise and curiosity.

Buffy wondered briefly why Drusilla would do something like this. Why was it important to the evil vampiress that the Slayer should fall in love with Spike?

He was quickly becoming everything she didn't know she wanted and more. Try as she might, Buffy couldn't see a down side. He had supernatural powers, so he could protect himself. He knew absolutely everything about her. He had a soul. He fought for the good guys. He was gorgeous.

Nope, no down side there!

But it was clearly important to Drusilla. She wanted it to happen…why?

'Oh God! I hope it's not a prophecy.'

~~~~~~~

Spike paced. He'd managed to keep the watcher distracted by telling him about the cheerleader dusting the poof. Giles was happily snickering away in the kitchenette, preparing his pot of tea.

Spike didn't want to admit it but he was really shaken by the morning's events. Buffy had kissed him. The Slayer had kissed him of her own free will. NO. It must have been an accident or something. They were just friends, so there was going to be some sort of explanation. The problem, in Spike's mind, was that he didn't want to ask for the reason. Maybe if he just ignored it, it would all just go away. That way he could keep his friends and there would be no complications. They would sort out the bonding later and everyone would be happy. He ignored the little voice in his head that said 'except you.'

When his bite went into tingling overdrive, Spike was thrown by the intensity of the euphoric feeling the engulfed him. "Oy Watcher," he called to the watcher. "Looks like Buffy's had success in something. Bloody bite's makin' itself known."

When Buffy breezed through the door a short time later, she discovered her watcher and her mate discussing the events of the day before.

Her mate.

She really loved that term.

Buffy moved around the couch to take a seat next to Spike. She was a little disappointed when he moved slightly away from her, but she had an idea about that. She was the queen of denial. She could recognize it a mile off. For some reason her vampire was swimming in the Nile and while she had no clue as to why he was, she was not above dragging him out screaming and yelling.

She made her plan of attack. The Slayer was on a mission and Spike hadn't beaten her yet.

"Buffy, what was your impression of Pete?" Giles asked the distracted blond.

"Short, Yoda like guy, but with better speech," Buffy answered automatically. At the mention of the old wizard, she remembered that she had a question for her Watcher. "He said I was a Master Slayer. How come you never told me I got the upgrade?" Buffy asked, curious. She wasn't angry…yet.

"What on earth is a Master Slayer?" Giles asked, shocked. He had never even heard a whisper of the term.

"You don't know?" Buffy wanted to believe his apparent lack of knowledge, but the roller coaster of emotion she'd been on the day before coupled with the knowledge of how she'd earned her title was making that difficult.

Giles was irritated at his own lack of knowledge. He had a suspicion that this was something the council had deliberately kept from him, but until he knew for sure he would do what he did best - research. "I assure you, Buffy, I've never heard the term before. Did Pete give you any further information?"

Buffy shared a glance with Spike, his slight nod telling her that he believed Giles too. "He didn't say much, Giles. Just that it was like an honorary title and that a slayer got it because of their experiences."

"Experiences, you say?" Giles responded thoughtfully.

"Like passing the Cruciamentum," Spike commented flatly. He unconsciously reached over and gave Buffy's shoulder a small squeeze.

Giles had the grace to look ashamed. While he knew that he had done the right thing in the end, he would always feel deep shame in the fact that he was the one that put a needle in Buffy's arm. He had betrayed her trust.

Buffy honestly felt that the time for recriminations had long since passed. She lifted her hand to Spike's as it rested lightly on her shoulder and returned his squeeze. "Apparently being mated to a Master Vampire didn't hurt either," she told Giles wryly.

Spike followed her lead. "He had a book, Rupes. You might want to call him and find out the name of it. It's where he was getting his information from."

Buffy waited for her watcher to make a note of the information, also giving him a chance to compose himself, before she continued. "And Spike's got his soul back. Permanent. No pesky happiness clauses for our vampire," she grinned happily.

"But…how…are you sure?" Giles was completely stunned by the information. Elated for his friend, but shocked to his very core that such a thing was a possibility. He had always prided himself of his near encyclopaedic knowledge of the supernatural. How was it that he had never seen a hint of this situation? How much more had he missed? How much did he not know?

Buffy and Spike took turns telling Giles about everything they'd learned in L.A. As he absorbed the information, the analytical part of his brain continued to pursue the matter of the missing information. He was beginning to suspect that his training was a little one sided, and if that was the case there was only one place to lay blame. The Council.

"So, what you are telling me is that Spike's decision to change his nature was all that was needed to allow his soul to return to him. The change is permanent and totally isolated from the bonding spell that Drusilla has performed. The bonding spell will be broken when the talisman is destroyed and you are following the path required to break the looping day spell," Giles said, confirming that he had understood the situation completely.

After acknowledging Giles' accuracy, Buffy and Spike went on to inform him of what they had seen when they followed Riley.

"Is it possible that he has a chip, too? That Adam may be controlling it?" Giles asked, thoughtfully.

Buffy thought about it. "It wouldn't surprise me, given some of the other things Professor Walsh has done, and it would explain the Robo-Riley performance."

Spike had a horrifying thought. "What if he can do that to me?"

A dull aching buzz hit both blonds simultaneously. Twin hands reached for the bites that belonged to them.

"The chip's gotta go," the Slayer decisively announced.

The tone of the tingle changed. Pain gave way to pleasure, supporting the Slayer's decision.

"Is it always that obvious?" Giles asked, curious. The expressions on both their faces had mirrored precisely.

Buffy grinned. Maybe it was time to start with phase one of her plan to claim her vampire. "Watch Spikes face," she told her watcher before turning to face her mate.

"We need to help Warren," Buffy said then watched Spike cringe. Her own marks echoing his pain.

"We need to help Tara."

Spike smiled in relief. The intensity of the buzz seemed to be building.

"The chip won't be a problem," Buffy cringed at the painful surge that pulsated from her bite.

"There's a prophecy that relates to my relationship with Spike," Buffy guessed. Spike's look of pleased surprise urged her on. The pleasant tingles confirmed her idea.

"Spike and I are destined to be together." The waves of euphoria she had experienced when she had first had the epiphany returned in full force.

Giles was awed by the beauty of their shared joy. He wondered briefly at his own lack of concern in relation to his slayer getting involved with another demon, but everything within him screamed that this was different. As he reconciled with his own feelings he was a little shocked when he noticed the reactions of the blond vampire that he was learning to call friend.

"As friends," Spike announced, panic written plainly all over his face. "Buffy and I are just friends. Good friends. Best friends, even. That's our relationship. Friends."

Buffy smiled in amusement. Oh yeah, denial boy was in full force.

Giles was struck by a single thought, 'Apparently, Buffy's ability to live in denial is infectious.'

~~~~~~~

"But why me, Slayer?" Spike whined. He really didn't like her suggestion.

Buffy lifted an eyebrow and crossed her arms. His petulance was cute, but it wasn't going to change anything. "You're better at this than me. We need to know how to fix the Xander shaped problem and you get the job."

"Why can't the watcher do it?" he pleaded, looking for a way out of the situation.

"I'd be more than happy to, Spike," Giles said jovially. "As long as you don't mind taking over all the research. How is your Ancient Sumerian?"

Spike pouted and slumped further down in his seat. There was no way he was letting on that he probably knew more languages than the watcher, because he knew damn well that if he admitted that, he'd be roped into all sorts of bloody research. That idea alone made chattin' with the whelp look like the lesser evil.

Buffy patted him on the arm. "It's alright, Blondie; we'll be here if you get into trouble with the mean little human boy."

"I'm a master vampire, not a bleedin' therapist," he muttered petulantly.

"And apparently a gifted impersonator. Your interpretation of a spoiled child is truly inspiring, Spike," Giles teased.

"Oh, ha bloody ha."

~~~~~~~

"So how's the new job, Whelp?" Spike asked after taking a seat next to the brunette on the couch.

It hadn't taken much for Buffy to get Xander to come over; just a phone call and a promise of sugary goodness. He'd even offered to pick up the donuts on his way. Everything about the boy screamed desperation to Spike and the vampire was surprised to find that he really did want to help the boy.

"Um, fine, and you're asking why?" Xander replied suspiciously.

"Just makin' conversation." Spike shrugged returning his gaze to the book he was supposed to be looking at.

"Since when did we become conversation buddies?" Xander sniped. He didn't trust demons. He didn't know how this one had convinced Buffy and Giles that he was on their side, but Xander didn't believe it for a minute. There was no way he was going to be able to fool the Xan-man.

Spike lifted an eyebrow. "Would you rather be a nummy treat?" he joked. When Xander just glared, Spike sighed deeply. This was not going to be easy.

"Look, me and the slayer's come to an understanding. I just thought we could talk like civilized people. Is that a problem for you?"

Xander gave the vampire a hard look. "Yeah, it is. You're not people and I'd don't get into conversations with demons."

"And why is that? You're dating an ex-demon, but you're above talking to regular ones?" Spike asked nonchalantly.

"Maybe because I've been helping fight them for the last three or four years," Xander commented sarcastically.

"Nah, don't think that's it." Spike argued absentmindedly, knowing full well that an attitude of disinterest from him would get further than interest. Harris didn't trust him. That much was clear.

"What would you know?" Xander scoffed, but there was an element of curiosity in his voice.

Spike chose that moment to look the youth directly in the eye. "I think you've got some demons of your own to deal with."

"Yeah, cause you know me so well." Xander was trying very hard to hide how much interest he had in the conversation. It frightened him, but strangely excited him too.

"I know you better than you think, Harris. So what was it? What made you hate demons so much?" Spike asked. His curiosity was obvious, as was his complete lack of animosity.

"None of your business, bleach boy," Xander snapped, not liking the subject any longer.

"You know holding onto the anger doesn't solve anything," Spike told him mildly. He made the decision there and then to make a leap of faith. The boy obviously wasn't going to do anything to make himself vulnerable to the vampire. Well, not unless the vampire did something first. "I admire you, you know."

"Wha? Huh? Admire me?" Xander looked at Spike in shock.

"Well, yeah. Out fighting the good fight every night. Battling the creatures in the dark with no supers powers, just a determination to help make the world a safer place. Takes balls of steel, that does," Spike assured him sincerely.

"Yeah, well, I do what I can." Xander tried really hard to project the same nonchalance as the blonde.

Buffy listened to their conversation from the kitchen. When she caught Giles' amused eyes, she was hard pressed to keep her snickering silent. She had to give Spike credit; he was truly gifted at leading someone in the direction he wanted them to go.

"So, you and Red have been best mates for a long time?" Spike continued to keep the conversation light as he skimmed over the book he had been given to check.

"Yeah, since we were little. It started over a broken crayon," Xander replied, chuckling at his memories.

Spike raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You two against the world, huh?"

"Uh huh, and Jesse of course." Xander still appeared to be lost in his memories. He seemed sadder.

"Jesse?" Spike gently prompted.

"He was a friend. He got turned right after we met Buffy," Xander replied sadly. His sadness soon turned to fury though. "By the same bitch that created Angelus."

"Darla," Spike said flatly, understanding completely what Xander's problem was. "I should have dusted that diseased whore years ago," he spat vehemently. Momentarily forgetting his mission, Spike allowed his own hatred of his great-grandsire to come to the fore.

Xander was thrown. He was so set in his disgust of demons that the idea that Spike seemed to feel the same as he did about something was freaking him out more than the concept that Spike could feel anything at all. He didn't know how to react. Maybe Buffy was right. She'd told him earlier that Spike had made the decision to help them, but he hadn't believed it for a minute. Now, he didn't know what to think about any of it.

"You hate her too?" Xander asked cautiously.

"With a bloody passion," Spike said emphatically. Memories of her absolute dismissal of him if it didn't involve beatings or torture preyed heavily on his mind. Thoughts of Darla forced him to examine his own behaviour, especially where Xander was concerned. Stupid soul.

Sighing heavily, Spike addressed the problem head on. "I'm sorry."

Xander stared at him, shocked. He shook his head as if trying to clear it. Stuck his finger in his ear, twisted and shook it around a bit. He had lived on the Hellmouth and he had thought he was immune to the surprises it could throw at him. Apparently not.

"Huh?"

Spike gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. He wasn't surprised that his apology had received that reaction. It wasn't like he'd ever really been nice to the boy.

"You're sorry? For what?" Xander asked, stunned.

"I may not be able to change the fact that I'm a demon or the fact that I'm related in some way to the bitch that hurt you so bad. I can't change the fact that when I first came to Sunnydale, I was evil. I'm sorry for the all the stuff I put you through; the kidnapping, the knocking you about, the names and such. I had the same chance as you. I helped Buffy beat Angelus and could have been helping since then, but I didn't. Guess I was going through some kind of transitional period, trying to adjust and figure out what I was gonna do with my un-life. I guess it's sorta what you're going through now that your outta school, trying to find your place in the world." Spike found it easy to combine his apology with the point of the conversation. He was a little surprised that he actually felt better about himself. He didn't feel guilty for his actions prior to the soul, but he did regret that his actions had affected his chances for a friendship with the lad now. He found himself hoping that the damage was fixable.

"Wait," Xander tried to gather himself by organizing his thoughts. "You helped Buffy against Angelus? When?"

"When she beat him and sent the bastard to hell."

"What is it exactly that you think you did?" Xander asked incredulously.

Spike studied the boy. He had a sinking suspicion that Buffy had never told the scoobies about the truce. Turning his gaze to the guilty faced slayer in the kitchenette, Spike directed his statement at her. "Think you owe the whelp a bit of a story, Slayer."

Buffy moved back into the living room and told them everything. They heard how Spike had saved her from being arrested. How the truce had been his suggestion. How he'd been honest with his motivation. How he had tried to help her in hiding her calling from her mother. How he'd fought at her side against the vampire that had attacked. How she had trusted his word and invited him into her house. How he had never betrayed that trust and that he still had an invitation that he had never taken advantage of. She told them that he had promised to keep Drusilla out of the fight and to leave town with her. She told them that he had kept his word.

"Why didn't you ever say anything, Buffy?" Giles asked. He wondered if having this information would have allowed his relationship with the vampire to develop earlier.

"Stop right there, Rupert," Spike said, interrupting the watcher's musings. "My reasons for helping the Slayer were selfish. I wouldn't have been trustworthy in any other situation. I wasn't ready then."

"It's okay, Spike. It's a valid question. I should have said something," Buffy acknowledged.

Xander felt torn. He was having real trouble letting go of his natural inclination towards hatred of all things demonic, but inside he wanted to one day become a good man. Unlike his father. A good man would recognize the changes in the vampire that wanted to change his nature. A good man would be honest.

Xander faced them all, but directed his first comment to Spike. "You say you were being selfish, but you went against your family to save the woman you loved from Hell on Earth. You helped save the world because you like it. No offence, Buffy, but if I remember rightly you did it because it was your duty. You felt bound by your duty to act. Personally, I think that makes Spike's decision the noble one. He did it because he wanted to, you did it for duty and so did Giles. I did it to score points with Buffy. I lied about what Willow said because I hated Angel almost as much as I hated Angelus, and Willow did it because she wanted to try the spell. Looks to me like Spike is the least one of us that should be calling his actions selfish." Xander crossed is arms and waited. They would either accept what he was saying or they wouldn't. Now was the time to find out. He briefly wondered if he would have had enough guts to say what he really thought if Spike hadn't said he admired him, sadly he doubted that he would have.

Xander was right and Buffy and Giles both knew it. It seemed that they all needed to re-evaluate their motives.

"You're right, Xan. We all need to take a good look at ourselves," Buffy told him seriously. "What would we do without you?" she asked rhetorically. Xander position in her life kept Buffy grounded and she felt that it was time for him to get credit for that.

Xander grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet. "Lucky you, Buffster. You don't have to find that out."

Buffy and Spike shared a look with Giles when their bite marks started to tingle pleasantly. It looked like they had fixed another problem. They all joined in with Xander's laughter.

~~~~~~~

"So what are we looking for?" Xander whispered as he and Spike hid in the bushes outside the entrance to Adams cave. Xander had insisted on accompanying the vampire without Buffy. He still felt a need to prove himself.

"That," Spike whispered back, pointing at Riley as he stepped out of the shadows and made his way to the entrance. Stealthily following at a distance, Spike let out his senses. It wouldn't do to get caught while he had the boy with him.

Xander knew to keep quiet. He had been told that the mission was important and that Spike needed to be able to hear what was being said. He was actually enjoying doing a little bit of field work with another male. He really hoped that if this went well, he'd get the chance to work with Spike again. He was still having a little trouble believing that Spike had chosen him to come on the mission rather than Buffy, but he sure wasn't complaining.

Spike had panicked. Not that he was willing to admit that. When Buffy said she was tired and that they could investigate the hall monitor the next night, Spike had realised that tired meant bed and bed was with him and maybe it would be better if she was asleep when he got in. What with her being tired and all, and him being, well, not. His time would be better spent trying to find out what was going on with the idiot ex-boyfriend. It could mean more bonding time with Harris and that should please the Slayer, his friend; his very good friend that had accidentally kissed him earlier.

Hearing all that he needed from the conversation between Adam and Riley, Spike carefully nudged Xander to make his way out of the cave. They didn't start talking until Spike decided they were far enough away from the cyborg that Xander was safe.

As they walked, they shared their reasons for their mutual hatred of Angel. Both were laughing so hard at one of Spikes stories that neither of them noticed the arrival of the subject of their derision until it was too late.

Spike was flat on his back with a stake at his chest before either of the two Sunnydale residents had the chance to move.

"How stupid are you, Harris? This is Spike. Master Vampire. You're lucky to be ali-"

"So, how pissed is Buffy gonna be?" Xander asked Spike as he brushed the Angel dust off his hands.

~~~~~~~

Spike woke earlier than Buffy for once and looked down at the beautiful blond in his arms. She'd been asleep when he finally came back to the crypt and he had been careful not to disturb her. He had told himself it was because he was looking out for his friend who was tired. It had nothing to do with anything else. Nothing at all.

Carefully easing his way out of the bed, so as not to disturb her, he quickly donned his clothes and sat on the ladder to wait for her to wake.

Buffy slowly opened her eyes. Something was wrong. Confused at waking up alone, she groggily looked around the area in search of her mate.

A/N: Thanks to Tam for her quick, awesome, wonderful, fantastic...um, okay better stop there and save some for next time! *g* A small bit of dialogue taken from Crush.

Spike woke earlier than Buffy for once and looked down at the beautiful blond in his arms. She’d been asleep when he finally came back to the crypt and he had been careful not to disturb her. He had told himself it was because he was looking out for his friend who was tired. It had nothing to do with anything else. Nothing at all.

Carefully easing his way out of the bed, so as not to disturb her, he quickly donned his clothes and sat on the ladder to wait for her to wake.

Buffy slowly opened her eyes. Something was wrong. Confused at waking up alone, she groggily looked around the area in search of her mate.

"Spike?"

"Right here, pet," he called out, not moving from his spot.

She rubbed her eyes, peering into the darkened corner. "What are you doing?"

"Just waiting for you to get up. We've got lots to do. Lives to fix, Frankenstein's to terminate, repeating days to break." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together with what he hoped looked like enthusiasm.

Buffy's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Why are you acting all wiggy? Is this about the kiss?" Kicking back the covers, she stood up with her hands on her hips, waiting for his response.

"What?" he squeaked before trying again in a more manly voice. "I mean, what? Of course not."

"Then what's with the avoidance?"

He stood, sliding his hands in his pockets to avoid fidgeting. "Look, pet. It's not so unusual. Two people...in the workplace...feelings develop."

"What?" she exclaimed.

"I'm just saying, things get twisted around, emotions get confused. It happens to everyone now and again. It's only natural, and with us and the looping day, throw on a mating bite and the ‘to do’ list from hell and things are bound to be crazy. It'll pass as soon as we get this all straightened out and things can get back to normal."

She tried to walk toward him, frustrated when he kept backing away. "There's something between us, Spike. You can't deny it."

"It's the mating bite, kitten. It's got you feeling all these...well, feelings."

"I know my own feelings, Spike." She was clearly annoyed now.

He tried to explain calmly. "I'm just saying, pet. Things are hazy right now, with everything going on. Neither one of us has been through this before, so we don't really know how it could be affecting us."

"So you think my kissing you had to do with a spell or mating or something?" she asked crossing her arms.

The vampire started to pace in agitation. "It's not the first time it happened is it? We thought we had feelings once before and as soon as the spell ended, we were back to hating each other."

She stomped her foot angrily. "Spike, that is not going to happen!"

He ran a weary hand across his eyes. He was tired from fighting his feelings and hers. "Look Buffy, things were going so well, let's not bugger it up. I don't wanna lose you."

Her glare softened. She knew how strong the fear of losing someone could be. "That's not even an issue, Spike. I can't believe you're getting this freaked out by one little kiss."

"I am not freaked out," he protested. "I just think we should wait, see what happens, before we rush into anything."

"Fine, we wait, but my feelings won't change." She walked to the ladder, where she paused and turned to him with one foot on the bottom rung. "So are we okay?"

"Yeah, pet. We're okay." He smiled a little too brightly before turning the opposite way to the sewers.

*****

Buffy opened the door ushering Willow and a nervous Tara into the apartment. The slayer, vampire, and watcher had discussed what they would tell the witches when they arrived.

They had begun to search for a prophecy about their mating, hoping to find some answers in the ancient volumes. They decided to tell them about the mating, but not the repeating day unless it was necessary.

"Hey, guys, glad you could make it, the extra eyes will come in handy," Buffy joked.

"Hey, Buffy. Hey, Giles...and Spike," she finished haltingly as the two Brits came out of the kitchen together. The redhead leaned toward her friend and whispered, "Why is Spike here?"

"Oh, that. Spike's helping," the slayer stated matter-of-factly, grinning across the room at the smirking vampire.

"Oh. Spike's helping," the witch repeated, frowning in confusion. "Cause that's a normal thing," she mumbled as she followed her friend into the living area.

"Come sit down and we'll explain what's happening," Giles assured them.

The three took turns telling the witches the tale of how the slayer and vampire had become mated. The dream bites and the information they found in LA.

"But how did Spike end up with you in LA? You went by yourself and you haven't had time to go back?" Willow asked, her mind finding the details that were left out more significant than those that were told.

The trio exchanged glances, communicating silently on whether they should give the redhead the rest of the story.

'Might as well tell it all, slayer,' the vampire said, taking advantage of the mating.

Sighing, the slayer turned back to her friend. "Okay, Will's it's like this…” The story on the looping day took a little longer than the first, especially when they got to the young witch’s involvement. It took a while to calm her down and then a bit more time to convince her she didn't need to start baking.

"T-that would make sense. Y-your aura's have both changed so much since the l-last time I saw you. T-those kinds of c-changes take time," the shy witch stuttered.

"Okay, so we research," Willow declared. She stood determinedly, walking to the table and grabbing several volumes. She turned clutching the books to her chest. "There’s something I don't understand. The loopy day; you have to 'fix' things in order to make it break, right?" She waited for the group to nod before continuing. "Okay, but some of the things you mentioned…Jonathan, Xander, Riley and Adam? Those aren't easy fixes; they would take some time, at least more than a day."

"Um, yeah I guess. What are you thinking, Wills?" the slayer asked trying to follow her reasoning.

"Well it would make more sense if you could start on the way to fixing those things to break the day, instead of fixing the whole problem. Let's face it; it's going to take more than one good day to help Xander through his problems, and getting Jonathan away from Warren isn't just a one time deal," the witch rambled on, getting excited about her theory. "So maybe if you just get the ball rolling, start making the changes, that would let the spell break and the day loop just allowed you time to see what needed to be changed."

The blonds smiled at each other when the felt the familiar pleasant tingling associated with correct decision or finding. "Sounds like a winner, Will's."

"Yeah, nice thinking, Red."

"Um, what was that?" the witch asked, watching as the blonds seemed to gravitate towards each other with a simple glance.

"Oh, yeah. Spike and I can communicate with each other in our heads. Neat, huh?"

"Oh. Oh!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening.

*****

They had been searching Giles' books for hours, still not finding a reference to a prophecy that said anything about slayers and vampire's mating.

“Okay, enough research. We need to head to the Bronze,” the slayer announced, slamming her book closed and ignoring the glare from her watcher at the treatment of his rare volumes. “We’re meeting Jonathan and one of his friends there at seven, and Xander and Anya are joining us around eight.”

The watcher began to clean up the mess around the table as the group gathered their things together. He looked at the vampire in concern when he started to fidget, seemingly reluctant to leave with the group.

“Coming, Spike?” Buffy called from the doorway.

The blond seemed to hover indecisively for a moment before reaching a decision. “No, pet. Gonna stay here with the watcher this round.”

Buffy frowned before turning to the two girls waiting outside. “I’ll catch up in just a minute.” She closed the door and walked back to stand close to the suddenly nervous vamp.

Giles chose that moment to take the cups and plates into the kitchen to allow them some privacy.

Buffy waited until he was gone before asking, “what’s up? We made all the calls hours ago. I thought we were going to dance and make with the merry. Why are you bailing?”

His eyes glazed over at the thought of his mate's body pressed against his, moving to the pulsing beat of the music they favored at the club the gang frequented. He shook himself out of his stupor, willing away the erection that was a constant companion since the beginning of their…friendship.

“Just thought I’d stay and keep the watcher company, is all,” he replied, unable to look her in the eyes.

“Uh huh. Try again, bleach boy.” Her eyes narrowed as she took in the nervous twitching and inability to meet her questioning gaze. “Is this about yesterday morning?” she asked, unable to keep the hurt from her voice.

“What? No!” his head jerked toward the kitchen, suddenly glad Giles wasn’t there to witness this confrontation.

“Then what is it?” she crossed her arms waiting for him to answer.

“Just wanted to spend some time with the watcher, pet. Get back a little of the day we lost together. You’ll be with the Scoobies and the nerd; you’ll have plenty of company, while Rupes is stuck alone.” He worked the guilt angle, hoping for a payoff. “Besides, the whelp will be there and even with our little bonding experience yesterday- the one that he won‘t remember- it's better if we don't push the issue.”

She snorted derisively. “Xander will just have to get used to having you around. He might as well start sooner rather than later.”

“Then how about we make it when he can actually remember what he’s supposed to get used to? ‘Sides, Red‘s suspicious enough without me tagging along with the group. I can just imagine what the reactions would be to me and you sharing a dance or two.” He hoped she wouldn’t push.

“Fine,” she huffed, not looking convinced but moving towards the door anyway. “If you change your mind, you know where we’ll be.”

Spike turned toward the sound of a throat clearing behind him.

“As gracious as it is to sacrifice your evening to keep me company, I can’t help but feel there’s more to it than what you told Buffy,” the older man stated, arching an eyebrow at the tense figure in front of him.

“Too much time on the Hellmouth, Rupes. It’s made you paranoid.” The blond chuckled uneasily, knowing the Brit was far too observant to fool for long. When the older man continued to watch him, cleaning his glasses as he waited, Spike sighed deeply before replying, “can I just say that the Slayer and I shared an embarrassing, and um…private moment yesterday that I’m still a bit uncomfortable about and leave it at that?”

Giles slipped his glasses back into place as he stuttered, “ah, by personal I assume you mean…right, then! Well, as you said, it‘s private. How about a drink?” He was already opening the liquor bottle before the vampire had time to answer, pouring them both a generous amount into crystal glasses.

Picking up both glasses, he handed one to the blond and raised his own in a toast before quickly tossing back half of it’s contents.

Two hours and three bottles later, the unlikely pair of watcher and vampire sat side by side on the couch, laughing and telling stories about the ‘good ol’ days’. Both curbed some of the gorier details, Spike not wanting to ruin his new friendship, and Giles still doing his best to block those darker times from his mind.

Suddenly the graying man gave an exaggerated sigh. “It’s not bloody fair.”

Swing his head around Spike looked at his companion though alcohol glazed eyes. “What’s that then?”

“It’s not bloody fair,” he repeated. “She sent the prat on his way without even letting us know. Didn’t bother consulting us on what we wanted, did she? No, sir. Just a ‘bye Angel’ and ‘see you later Angel’. Doesn’t she realize we have needs too?” his rant gathered steam as he spoke.

Spike rubbed his chest absentmindedly, “Yeah, it does feel a bit empty, doesn’t it? Kinda like we’ve been cheated or something.”

“It’s not like this day is gonna last forever.” Giles stood up drunkenly, his accent turning rough and unpolished. “She could have at least let us have our fun while it lasted.”

“Too bloody right! Spoil sport is what she is.” The blond raised his glass in agreement before quickly swallowing the last of the liquor.

“You know what we should do?” Giles asked, waving his glass around excitedly, uncaring that he was sloshing the amber liquid as he moved. “We should go find him, end this day up right and proper.”

Spike eyed the drunken man warily. “You know slayer won’t let us do that.”

Giles leaned in to whisper to the vampire. “What the slayer don’t know won’t hurt her,” he slurred before breaking into giggles at the incredulous expression on the blonds face.

*****

Buffy sat at the table feeling sorry for herself as she watched her friends on the dance floor with their significant others. She glanced over at Jonathan and Andrew, who had turned out to be Tucker’s brother, trying to play pool but having trouble actually making any of the shots.

She should be out there having fun with her friends, but found herself miserable instead. She missed Spike and hated that he hadn’t joined them. She couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t being completely honest in his excuses not to join them. She was sure that he was still rattled from the kissage the day before.

Was it really that bad? Did I have morning breath? she wondered silently, her mind constantly trying to find a reason for his freak out. It’s not like she wasn’t attractive, and she had gotten the impression more than once that he found her desirable. So what was the problem?

She made up her mind to talk to him when they went back to his crypt that night to sleep and this time he wouldn’t weasel out with lame-ass excuses.

Her friends crowded around the table, laughing and grabbing drinks to refresh their heated bodies, but she still had trouble settling into the joviality of the evening. Looking around the table, she wondered how her friends would feel if they knew that in a few hours they wouldn’t remember anything that happened tonight and that nothing they did would change that fact. She tried to shake off the gloom and doom thoughts as she sipped her drink.

The slayer listened halfheartedly to the conversation around her, wondering what Spike and her watcher were doing right then. Honestly she couldn’t imagine what they could be doing, what the two of them could find to talk about for hours at a time. The vampire had never really told her what the two had spent the day talking about when they had reached their agreement, other than the talk about Spike deciding to help them fight evil with them.

“Hey Buffy, you okay?” Jonathan’s voice startled her out of her musings to find several pairs of eyes looking at her in concern.

“Oh, I’m fine, just thinking. What were we talking about again?”

The worried expressions dimmed a little as the conversation resumed and she tried to participate, smile at the right times and laugh when it seemed appropriate, but her mind still wasn’t completely there.

She knew she should be making an effort with Jonathan or Tara to find out exactly what they needed to ‘fix’ for them to be able to move on, but just couldn‘t seem to make her mind concentrate on anything for too long as the night went on.

After a while Xander had decided to teach the other two boys what little he knew about playing pool, leaving the girls to chat alone. Anya adopted a bored expression as soon as her boyfriend left the table, while the witches threw each other bashful glances and tried to discuss some random lecture that had intrigued them in one of their classes together.

The swimmy feeling started gradually. She might not have realized it if Willow hadn’t reached out to steady her when she swayed a bit in her chair.

“Buff, you alright?”

“Yeah, I think it’s the mating, it’s all wonky or something. Hang on, let me see what Spike‘s doing,” she said closing her eyes to concentrate on her mate.

“Okay, that’s kinda freaky,” the redhead informed her friend.

Opening one eye the slayer smirked. “Yeah, tell me about it.” Closing her eye once more, she focused in on the vampire in question, trying to get a sense of what he might be doing and where.

All she got from him was more of the woozy feeling she had felt before. Finally giving up, she called out loudly in her head, ‘Hey Spike what are you doing?’

The car swerved when the voice registered in his head. ‘Bloody hell, pet. Don’t do that when a blokes driving!’ he cried out both in his mind and out loud, ignoring the watcher when he burst out in a fit of giggles.

‘Driving? Driving where?’ she asked confused.

‘Um, nowhere. Just out for a drive.’ His lie sounding hollow even in his own head.

She frowned when his inner voice sounded faded. 'Where are you? The matey thing sounds weird, like you’re in a tunnel or something?'

Spike‘s eyes widened when he realized she was already suspicious. 'Bloody hell, she knows we’re up to something.'

'Um, Spike? You remember that I can hear your thoughts right?'

He grumbled irritability. 'Glad one of us can, what with Chuckles the Laughing Boy next to me. I can barely hear my own thoughts.'

'You mean Giles? What’s Giles laughing-' she paused, her brain flashing back to the day before the spell and the fight with her friends. 'Oh my…are you guys drunk?'

'Yeah, but I’ll have to make a stop soon, I’m starting to sober up, but the watcher will probably be good to go for another hour or so,' he chuckled figuring the damage was already done.

'Where are you, Spike?' she demanded, ignoring the looks from her friends when she jumped up and began to pace around the table. She rolled her eyes as her mate continued to talk and think his speech at the same time.

'She wants to know where we are.' The slayer could hear the conspiratorial tone even through the bond. 'No, you can't talk to her! My head's not a bleedin' cell phone, you git.'

'The truth, Spike. Now!'

'Geeze, keep your knickers on, pet. We're headin' to LA, gonna visit Angel,' he bragged.

She would swear she could hear the snicker in his thoughts and rolled her eyes again. 'What are you guys, six?'

'Nope, just not gonna miss an opportunity while we have it.' He paused, obviously listening to the other occupant in the vehicle. 'Yeah, what the watcher said…we're exorcising our demons,' he told her smugly.

'Spike, so help me, you’d better have your undead ass back in Sunnydale before the day resets...with my watcher.'

Suddenly her head filled with hissing noises as she heard his final words, 'Sorry pet, you're breaking up. Have to call you back later.' His inebriated giggle echoed loud in her head as he cut off the bond.

*****

Two figures crept down the alley, stalking their prey through the night. Their stealth was inhibited by the excessive alcohol running it’s course through their bodies.

The vampire caught the watcher as he tripped over a small crate, his lax frame slow to right itself. "Bugger," Giles cursed drunkenly.

"Shh! He'll hear us," Spike hissed loudly. Grabbing Giles by the arm, he attempted to lead them through the alley, avoiding any hazards to his companion.

They rounded the corner in time to see Angel dust a vampire as a girl huddled terrified on the alley floor.

Spike could hear the distant throb of club music, realizing that the girl must have been lured outside for a late night snack. They watched from behind a dumpster as Angel comforted the frightened girl. Both snorted when they heard him lecture her about leaving with strange men she didn't know.

"Pillock," the blond spat in disgust. "It's bad enough to have to be saved by His Royal Blandness, but to have to suffer through a speech too? That's just not right." He reached out without looking, using one hand to steady the swaying man beside him as he continued to watch their target.

Spike rolled his eyes at the display in front of him. The whole scene reminded him too much of his failed attempt at getting the gem back from the broody vamp, but he chuckled when he remembered the mocking that had taken place on the rooftop. Some of my best work to date. He grinned at the memory.

He began to quote the lines to the watcher, smirking when the man snorted and choked in an effort to suppress his laughter.

"Helping those in need's my job, and working up a load of sexual tension, and prancing away like a magnificent poof is truly thanks enough!" he mimicked in a low voice before raising the pitch. "I understand. I have a nephew who is gay, so..." He paused dramatically before continuing in the low tone, "Say no more. Evil's still afoot and I'm almost out of that Nancy-boy hair gel I like so much. Quickly, to the Angel-mobile, away!"

Giles couldn't control his laughter any longer and they leaned into each other, both gasping for air through the hysterical giggling. Spike shoved the watcher back behind the dumpster when Angel whirled around. He rolled his eyes when the dark vampire told the girl to run home, before he started to walk cautiously back into the alley.

Spike grabbed the still snickering man by the elbow and stepped out from behind the dumpster. There was no way that he would let his poncy grandsire think he was hiding from him.

Smirking, he patted down his duster in search of a cigarette. "Hello, Angelus."

The brunette growled. "Spike. What the hell are you doing here...and Giles?" His expression turned confused when he spotted the other man.

"Hello, An-hic!-gelus," Giles acknowledged, trying to imitate Spike’s cool greeting. Unfortunately his snorts and giggles ruined the effect.

Angel frowned and turned to the blond. "What's wrong with him?"

The watcher snorted and rolled his eyes, unconsciously imitating his partner in crime. "Nothing's wrong with me, you wanker."

"Are you drunk?" The LA based vampire asked incredulously.

"And if I am?"

Shaking his head, Angel tried to make sense of the scene in front of him, "Does Buffy know you're here?"

Giles straightened his posture before replying haughtily, "I don't report to my slayer, my slayer reports to me."

The unusually silent vamp added, "actually, she does know."

The watcher spun to face his companion, stumbling a bit from his quick maneuver. "Bloody hell! When did that happen?"

"In the car, remember? The whole 'my head's not a cell phone' speech?" he reminded as he tapped his head mockingly.

"Oh, right. I forgot. Carry on."

"Carry on with what? Why are you here?" Angel broke into the discussion, his patience at an end.

The two conspirators glanced toward each other and brought their heads in to converse.

"So, what's the plan?" Giles asked, shooting Angel a wary look.

"Bloody hell I thought you had a plan!"

"Alright, I've got it." He paused dramatically. "Get 'im!"

"Bloody hell!"

The two rushed the startled vamp, causing him to stumble, his usual grace lost in the confusion. Arms flailing, he tumbled backwards under the force of both men colliding with him. They watched, disappointed when he crumbled to dust before either had a chance to reach for their stakes.

The blond slumped to the alley floor, staring at the dust coated crate that lay where the broody vamp had fallen, its broken slat pointed up toward the sky. He stared at the wooden box for a moment before breaking out into hysterical laughter.

"What's so bleedin' funny?" Giles growled. "The bastard practically dusted himself!" Spike pointed to the crate, "Look. Only a couple more and we'll all have had a shot at the poofter." The watcher bent to read the words. Shaking his head, he straightened with a glare. "I fail to see what you think is so humorous, Spike."

The blond pointed at the box once more, reading out loud, "Red Wolf Company. You know...Willow's wolf boy. Oh, come on! It's funny!"

Giles turned carefully before making his way haltingly out of the alley, calling out over his shoulder as he went, "Get your drunk ass up and drive me home."

*****

Buffy slowly descended the ladder to the lower level of the crypt. The night had been a big bust as far as she was concerned. First the Bronze was depressing because all her friends were coupled. Then, after leaving the club, she had gone to her watchers and waited for them to show back up from their LA expedition, only to give up after a couple of hours. They were so getting a talking too! she grumbled to herself.

She had felt Spike poking at her subconscious on the walk back to the crypt, but she had stubbornly blocked it, too upset to talk to him.

Kicking off her shoes, she crawled dejectedly into the bed. It seemed so much larger without her mate to cuddle with. She gathered his pillow to her chest and inhaling his scent as a tear rolled down her cheek, wishing she didn't feel so alone.

*****

Spike reached out to pull his mate close, instinctively craving her warmth, only to find her spot empty with the sheets rapidly cooling in her absence. He raised his head to search the dimly lit room.

He felt a bit guilty that he hadn't rushed back to Sunnydale like he could have, but knowing Buffy was already upset made him drag his feet even more. The last thing he remembered before the day reset was driving down the darkened highway, his companion snoring loudly beside him.

"Buffy?"

Her name echoed around the chamber and he knew he was alone.

A/N: Thanks to the wonderful Tam for beta'ing.

Spike reached out to pull his mate close, instinctively craving her warmth, only to find her spot empty with the sheets rapidly cooling in her absence. He raised his head to search the dimly lit room.

He felt a bit guilty that he hadn't rushed back to Sunnydale like he could have, but knowing Buffy was already upset made him drag his feet even more. The last thing he remembered before the day reset was driving down the darkened highway, his companion snoring loudly beside him.

"Buffy?"

Her name echoed around the chamber and he knew he was alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley watched as his girlfriend hurried out of the cemetery, making him wonder why exactly she had been at that particular spot so early in the morning. The AWOL commando made a split second decision to attempt to backtrack Buffy's path. Riley knew that the crypt that Hostile 17 had staked out for his own was in the vicinity. Xander Harris had let the information slip to Riley just that morning.

Riley entered the graveyard and moved around checking out the different crypts, most of which were locked. He was coming up on the biggest one at the back of the cemetery when he heard a strange noise. Riley leaped behind a nearby raised sarcophagus where he crouched down. He shivered slightly when he heard the heavy footsteps pass him by and head for the crypt he was about to investigate. When he peeked out from his hiding place, he was surprised to see Adam disappear into the crypt. Riley resolved to creep closer, in hopes of eavesdropping on whatever was going on inside. When Riley got close enough he could hear two voices inside. He was not surprised when the it turned out to be Hostile 17 plotting with Adam.

"So, you have the disks in question hidden in your cave?" Hostile 17 asked, his voice cool and casual.

"Yes, that is correct," Adam answered.

"Your guards are adequate?" Hostile 17 queried offhand.

"Yes, quite adequate. I have ten vamps and two Polgaras as my personal guard," Adam answered.

"That's good, then. You get me the disks, and I'll break up the Slayer's little cheerleading squad for you." The vampire announced.

"That is acceptable. I will leave you to make your move and I will check in with you later," Adam said, evenly.

Riley rushed to hide behind the sarcophagus, again. He listened as the creature that Maggie Walsh had constructed marched away. Once the coast was clear, he pulled the stake out of his pants pocket and made his way to the door of the crypt. He entered as silently as he could to stand there watching as the vampire he knew as Hostile 17 quickly drank down his blood.

"Hostile 17," Riley growled. "Alone at last. I see you're planning something stupid against Buffy." He raised his stake to show the vampire he was armed.

"Don't think so, Captain Cardboard," Spike drawled. "This is a Slayer-approved plan. Adam's got some disks and we want them." The vampire flung himself down in his chair. He flung one leg over the arm and proceeded to look the young human male up and down, his gaze filled with contempt.

"No, I really don't think so, Hostile," Riley drawled, moving closer. "This is more likely the Slayer-approved plan," he snarled as he brought the stake home. Riley stared down at the pile of dust, sure that Buffy would be pleased with his actions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giles had been surprised when Buffy had shown up at his apartment alone that morning, but she assured him that it was because Spike was going to try to get more information on the location of the disks from Adam. She sat quietly on the couch sipping her mocha latte while Giles rewrote his notes on the looping day they were experiencing. The Watcher wished that his notes would quit disappearing. This was getting old, fast.

Giles leapt up from his chair when Buffy let out an anguished cry and dropped her coffee to the floor where the Styrofoam cup burst, spilling the hot drink. The Watcher rushed over to the girl, who had fallen to her knees, and was rocking back and forth with tears streaming down her face. He noticed one of her hands tightly gripped the spot on her neck that he knew was the location of the dream claim.

Giles carefully picked Buffy up and placed her on the couch. He sat down beside the distraught girl, pulling her close to him. Giles knew this had something to do with Spike, but couldn't fathom what would make Buffy so upset. Unless.....

"Buffy, did something happen to Spike?"

"He's gone!" Buffy cried. "I can't feel him anymore! Oh God, Giles." She buried her face in his shoulder where she started to sob loudly.

Twenty minutes later, Giles was able to contact Willow and Tara to come sit with the still overwrought Slayer while Xander and Anya went to Spike's crypt to check on his whereabouts. The spilled coffee had been cleaned up and Giles was putting water on to boil. He planned on talking the girl into taking two sleeping pills so that she could sleep until the day reset itself. At least, he hoped it reset itself. Other people, namely Angel, had died and the day had no problem beginning again, but neither Spike nor Buffy had died before. The Watcher had no idea if the death of one of the people the spells centered on would somehow cause a major glitch in the magic.

A knock interrupted Giles' musings. He checked on the girls while he moved across the apartment to open the door. He lifted one eyebrow when he saw that the visitor was Riley Finn, Buffy's supposed boyfriend. Giles was disgusted with the boy's manners when he pushed past him to rush to the Slayer's side.

"Buffy, I was looking all over for you." Riley knelt beside the couch. "Is there something wrong?" He was quite worried when he saw Buffy's tearstained face.

"Spike..." Buffy whispered. A sob hitched in her throat as she gripped Willow's hand and pulled the red-headed witch between Riley and herself.

"That piece of filth has been taken care of," Riley assured the upset girl. "I found out he was working with Adam and I staked him before he could do any more damage." The commando was so proud of his feat that he didn't notice that Buffy had gone from distraught teenager to outraged Slayer in five seconds flat. He also failed to notice that that she wasn't the only one upset by the news.

"You did what?" Buffy growled. Her eyes flashed in a way that the two seasoned Scoobies in the room had never seen before. Buffy sat up, her beautiful face twisted into a grimace of distaste.

"That creature had the audacity to try to tell me that what he was doing was approved by you," Riley continued, still unaware that he had upset Buffy. "As if you would ever stoop to plan something like this with him."

"Well, guess you should have been here two years ago when we got together and planned to take down Angel," Buffy said condescendingly. "Or a few months after that when we fought off minions together. Hey, what about the scheme to keep him out the hands of your idiot boss, Maggie Walsh? You know; the one that created Adam in the first place?"

"What ... what are you talking about?" Riley stammered. He glanced around at Giles, Willow and Tara. He knew that Giles and Willow had been friends with Buffy for years, but he hadn't realized that they knew Spike quite a bit better than they let on.

"You really think I'd take some random vamp under my wing?" Buffy hissed while she rose to her feet. "I would've never asked Giles or Xander to invite Angelus in, or any of the other vampires I've dealt with over the years, except Spike. He's always been ... different." She finished with a dry chuckle.

"When did you decide that creature was different, Buffy? Before or after you slept with your other vampire?" Riley asked snidely.

"Definitely before," Buffy said softly as she smiled with remembrance. "It was when I held Drusilla at stake point in the vampire groupie club. He called off his minions and let the groupies go rather than have me dust her. That's when I knew he was not like other vamps."

"This is all wrong, Buffy. You told me you were supposed to stake vampires." Riley reached out to grab Buffy's arm. "But you let two of them live on and ....."

"Three actually, since part of the little deal two years ago included Drusilla," Buffy muttered softly to herself.

"Well, I'm glad I staked that damned vampire. Maybe now you'll come to your senses..." Riley's voice stopped when Buffy punched him in the face. He felt himself fly backwards, his flight stopped by the front door.

Buffy swiftly crossed the room to lift Riley to his feet by his shirt. She opened the door and threw him outside, making Xander and Anya, who were walking up to the apartment, jump out of the way of the oncoming body.

"I take it we found out what happened to Captain Peroxide?" Xander asked. He walked over to the unconscious commando. "We better take him back to the high school before Buffy get really mad."

Giles and Xander heaved the other male away from the apartment, for once glad about the Sunnydale denial factor while the three female Scoobies tried their best to calm Buffy down again. Once the adrenalin had left the Slayer's body she became a bit hysterical again. Willow and Tara got the Slayer to take the sleeping pills, much to everyone's relief.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel knocked on the door of Giles' apartment. He came to Sunnydale to apologize to Buffy for his behavior the night before, but his search had turned up no sign of the petite blond slayer. The brunette vampire had the oddest feelings all day. First there had been the great sense of loss that morning, something similar to when Darla had dusted, but the strangest feeling came over him when he hit Sunnydale city limits. Angel shivered slightly in memory. For some reason, he was scared of this town now and he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

The strangeness didn't fade when the door opened to reveal Xander standing on the other side. The odd look that crossed the boy's face didn't bode well and Giles ushering him to the other side of the courtyard to talk put a whole new spin on the oddness factor of the day.

The Watcher informed the broody vampire that Buffy's day had been very difficult and she was in no way up to seeing Angel. When pressed for a reason why, Giles finally said that she'd been getting closer to Spike over the past few weeks and that Riley had come in bragging that he'd staked the blond vampire, causing a bit of a breakdown in the young girl. It was clear by the Watcher's tone of voice that he blamed Angel in some way for some reason.

After getting a promise from Giles that Buffy would call him when she felt better, Angel left the courtyard deep in thought. Spike's dusting explained the feelings of loss from earlier in the day, but he couldn't understand why Buffy was so upset. Angel's pondering was interrupted when a not so sober Riley stumbled out of the darkness towards the building that the vampire had just left.

"I'll show her," Riley said, his words slightly slurred. "I do her this big favor and she punches me. It's not like he's a human." The boy paused to look into the courtyard, so he failed to notice his audience of one. "I gave up everything for her. My school, my career, my good standing. Gonna be court marshaled for her. Ungrateful little..."

"I suggest you don't continue that sentence," Angel growled from his spot in the darkness.

Riley whirled around to peer into the night. "Who's there? Show yourself."

Angel stepped out into the light, putting on his most menacing air, "Giles tells me you killed one of my family members. Now, granted, Spike always was a cocky little upstart, but he was still family."

Riley pulled a stake from his uniform pocket. The alcohol in his system fueled the boy to lose his caution and intensify his bravado. The success of dusting Spike that morning gave the commando the idea that Angel's soul worked much like the blond vampire's chip had. Riley lunged forward only to find himself bent over the hood of a nearby car with his body pinned beneath the larger and much stronger male vampire.

"Get off me, you pervert." Riley tried to snarl, really he did, but with the side of his face pressed firmly into the unyielding metal of the car, it came out as a squeak. "Let me up now and I won't tell Buffy you assaulted me."

"Somehow, I don't think Buffy cares too much about you today, boy," Angel growled. "But you see; Buffy and I aren't the ones you have to worry about. It's Drusilla, Spike's sire. You killed her dark prince and she'll go to the ends of the earth to hunt you down." He chuckled evilly as he slipped into game face. "And I think I'll help her with that."

Riley screamed when Angel's fangs slid into his neck. The overwhelming pain was soon replaced with a strange euphoria, but before Riley could identify it, the dark haired vampire removed his teeth from his neck to whisper in his ear.

"To my Kin, thus you be marked, may all of our line hunt you." Angel let his human facade melt back into place. He squashed the guilt of his soul down and concentrated on the glee of his demon to mark a human for revenge, marked for causing Buffy pain. He didn't know why he felt these feelings of hatred so strong on behalf of his pain in the ass grandchilde, but they coursed through him, and he was unable to block them. Angel could clearly feel Drusilla's pleasure through their bond, something that hadn't happened since before he was cursed with his soul.

Riley scrambled away from the vampire just as soon as he could, but before he could say anything further to Angel a strange lethargy came over him. He found himself trapped within his own body as it lurched away from the apartment complex on a path towards the college.

Angel blinked suddenly at the odd behavior and wondered if he should mention it to Giles. He quickly made the decision that the Watcher needed to know what he's seen, so he re-entered the courtyard to knock on the apartment door. After a hurried conversation with a preoccupied Giles, Angel strolled out of the gates right into a patched together man, that made the vampire think of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.

"You are the vampire that was so presumptuous to mark my brother," Adam said. "What gives you the right?"

"He dusted one of my family members," Angel said coolly. He shoved his hand into his pants pockets as he looked the creature up and down.

"This is unacceptable. Riley is my brother. Therefore I must avenge him," Adam stated calmly while he approached the vampire. He extended his poisonous Polgara spikes and skewered Angel neatly on it. Then he quickly dusted Angel before the vampire could react.

Inside the apartment, a still worried Watcher waited for the day to reset itself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike sat up in his bed gasping. The last thing he remembered was Riley staking him the morning before and that had been a totally unsettling feeling. As much as he hated his grandsire, he was glad the old fart didn't remember the dustings the next day. Spike was startled when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around him and hugged him fiercely.

"Don't you ever dust on me again, Spike!" Buffy sobbed. She buried her face in the vampire's chest.

A/N: Mucho thanks to Tam for her time and wonderful beta skills.

Spike sat up in his bed gasping. The last thing he remembered was Riley staking him the morning before and that had been a totally unsettling feeling. As much as he hated his grandsire, he was glad the old fart didn't remember the dustings the next day. Spike was startled when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around him and hugged him fiercely.

"Don't you ever dust on me again, Spike!" Buffy sobbed. She buried her face in the vampire's chest.

Automatically bringing his arms up to hold the weeping girl, Spike tried to come to terms with his temporary demise while he comforted his distraught mate…er, friend.

"There, there, luv, we knew this was a possibility," he gently reminded her as he mentally checked that everything was still with him; wouldn't do to come back with only half his bits.

"We knew it was a possibility with Adam," she responded sharply as she scooted away from him, miffed that he wasn't acting like he was affected by his dusting at all. Here she had been forced to take a couple of sleeping pills because shed been all hysterical girl and he was acting as if it was no big deal. He could at least be acting a little wigged. "I didn't expect you to let Riley, of all people, take you out."

"Hey!" Spike glared at her indignantly, moving swiftly to snatch up his jeans and cover himself. "I didn't bloody well let him do anything. Do you think I wanted to be staked by the wanker? He's your bloody boyfriend," he snapped.

"He so is not. You know I'm not with him anymore, I'm with you!" Buffy yelled at him.

"It’s a soddin' spell. The minute its over, you know bleedin' well that you're gonna run straight back into the arms of Mr. Oh-So-Joe-Normal and forget all about me, just like you did last time," Spike angrily accused, his unspoken fears and insecurities unexpectedly coming to the fore.

Buffy froze as his accusation washed over her. "I thought you knew me better than that, Spike," she said quietly before turning and leaving the shocked vampire to stare at the empty place she left behind.

"Great work, William; you bloody insecure bastard. Now how do I fix this one?" Spike shook his head in despair and sighed heavily.

~~~~~~~

"Bloody hell, man, the least you could have done was let me know you were alright," Giles snapped in relief as the peroxide blond entered his apartment, his normal British reserve sorely tested. He hadn't realized how much his friendship with the vampire had meant to him until he'd learned of the Spikes dusting the day before. He had been waiting impatiently for someone to let him know that everything had reset itself all morning and was more than a little grumpy.

Spike looked at the man, startled. "Sorry, mate," he offered sincerely, his shock that the watcher was so clearly concerned about him, momentarily overtaking the blondes surprise that Buffy hadn't informed her watcher that he was back among the un-living. "Didn't Buffy tell you?"

"She hasn't been here yet," Giles replied slightly mollified by the candor of the vampire’s apology.

Spike froze. Letting his link to the volatile blond open he found it firmly closed to him. "Damned irritating little chit, how the hell is a bloke supposed to apologize if she wont bloody speak to him?" he growled in frustration.

Giles lifted an eyebrow in amusement. "What is it you feel in need of apologizing for, Spike?"

"Long story, Watcher," Spike sighed deeply as he sat on the living room couch.

"We have time," Giles offered his friend gently as he joined him in the living room.

Spikes head jerked up at that and he gave the watcher a cheeky little grin as he dove a hand into the deep pockets of his duster, bringing out a couple of computer discs. "Not so much time as you thought, Rupes. We need Red."

Giles smiled in pleasure, procuring the discs would move them a great deal closer to breaking the looping day. Glancing over to the morose blond on his sofa as he waited for Willow to answer her phone, the Brit suspected the solution to his friend’s problems might take a little more than that.

~~~~~~~

"Okay, I'm still wigging about the whole you and Spike thing, but what is it you're really angry about, Buffy? It sounds to me like, well, if he was a normal guy, he's just scared and insecure. Which when you think about it, the idea of being Spike scared and insecure is a bit of a freak factor," Willow babbled. She was having a little trouble taking in all that she had learned since the blond whirlwind had come storming into Tara's dorm room. She so didn't want to be around when Xander found out about the possible relationship between Buffy and the bleached blond vampire. That was not gonna be pretty. "Umm, what about Riley?" Willow turned wide eyes to her friend.

"I told you, Riley is so history," Buffy growled dangerously as she felt the flash of rage that rose at the sound of the commando’s name.

"But, Buffy, he doesn't know that," Tara gently injected.

"He dusted Spike," Buffy replied, her memories making her voice harsh. Despite the fact that Spike was all back with the non-dusty, she wasn't planning on cutting Riley any slack at all. "And as pissed as I am at the bleached menace, it doesn't make what Riley did any less contemptible."

Willow reached to gently touch the arm of her angry friend. "But, Buffy, even you said he did it because he said he was protecting you. He was proud of his actions. He's not going to stop trying to impress you. Unless you talk to him, he might do it again."

"Impress me?!" Buffy exclaimed, outraged. "By attacking someone who can’t fight back? Oh, that's leaving a big old impression of the bad kind."

"If you don't have the break-up conversation with him every day until the day stops looping, you'll be cheating on him," Willow pointed out firmly.

The slayer blanched at the thought of having to perform a daily break-up conversation. Much as she hated agreeing that Willow had a point, she was forced to acknowledge that her friend was right. She so preferred her plan. Avoidance was a much more appealing idea.

A knock at the door coincided with the ringing of Willows cell phone. As Tara moved to answer one and the red head answered the other, Buffy sat dejectedly on the bed. Why couldn't she have a repeating day at Disneyland? Ooh! Or Mall of America?

Buffy vaguely noticed that whoever was at the door was apparently after Willow. The red head moved closer to the door as she spoke on the phone, indicating that she wouldn't be long.

"Yeah, Buffy explained it all. Do you need us to come over? He did? Oh that's great!" Willow exclaimed excitedly before announcing her news to the room. "Spike got the discs."

"SPIKE!" Riley yelled from the doorway, glaring at Willow. "What is it with you people? You. Can’t. Trust. Him."

Before Buffy had a chance to react, Willow turned furious eyes on the AWOL solider standing there in his ridiculous pants and showed that the old saying about redheads and tempers was true, for her at least. "Now you listen to me, Riley Finn," she snarled at him. "You trusted Professor Walsh and she turned into a Frankenstein's monster-making Nazi running a concentration camp for demons. Not a good image for a Jew to deal with, gotta tell ya. Your credibility in knowing who to trust is so not with the big. We know exactly what and who Spike is. We've known him for a long time, and have seen more in the last three years than you can dream of. There is not one Scooby that doesn't have more experience with the supernatural in one little finger than you have in your whole overly large body. Don't you dare act all superior with us. Compared to us; you're the amateur. The fact that you're also a demon bigot doesn't do much for your credibility either, buster." Willow breathed heavily as she continued to glare at the shocked commando.

Buffy froze momentarily in the wake of the normally sweet tempered redhead’s tirade, seriously impressed with her friend’s lack of babbling. Didn't see that coming, she mused absentmindedly.

"Well said, Willow," Giles voice drifted up from the phone Willow held in her hand.

"If that's your uneducated way of thinking, then its better that you stay away from Buffy. She doesn't need misguided civilians getting in her way," Riley replied pompously, pulling himself up to his full height and looking down at the still fuming redhead.

Willow turned stunned eyes away from the commando at her door and faced her best friend. "I am so sorry I encouraged you to date this boob."

"Not your fault, Wills." Buffy smiled at her friend as she stepped forward and opened the door wide, her gaze hard as she met Riley's.

"Buffy," the ex-commando spoke her name as he reached for her, his hand faltering as he noticed her expression. "Buffy?"

"Stay away from me, Riley. Stay away from my family, my friends, my watcher, and my vampire. You want to take on a vampire so badly, try Angel on for size, but so help me; if you so much as look at Spike the wrong way, you'll be finding out just exactly how much I've been holding back on you."

Her voice was even, her tone calm. There was no way he could doubt her sincerity. He shivered slightly. For the first time he was truly afraid of this tiny girl. Backing away slowly, Riley moved away from the furious and lethal blond in the doorway. He seriously needed some time to think.

~~~~~~~

"He told me it would be impossible to break on our own; was he telling the truth, Red?" Spike asked as Willow looked over the encrypted file.

"It’s really complicated," Willow answered, worrying her bottom lip as she stared at the screen of her laptop. She hated not being able to solve a problem. If only they had more time. "What else did he say?"

"That there's only two ways to read the bloody thing. One; we wait for it to decrypt on its own, something about a time delay, or two; we enter the access code." Spike repeated what little information he had managed to gain from Adam.

"Don't suppose he gave you the code," Willow commented sadly, not really expecting an answer.

"Apparently, it’s Cardboards nine digit serial number," Spike replied automatically.

Willow looked up in excitement. "Really? That's it? We just need Riley to…oh...oh." Her face fell as the memory of her earlier encounter struck her with full force.

Spike tilted his head to side in question. He wondered what was causing the little redhead to look both concerned and a little pleased with herself at the same time.

"Okay, might want to put that on Buffy's to do list for tomorrow." Willow offered sheepishly. "I don't think Riley is gonna be in a giving mood today."

"What do you mean, Red?"

"Willow took exception to Riley telling her she couldn't trust you, Spike," Giles informed the vampire while he smiled at Willow proudly.

"You stood up for me?" Spike asked in amazement, his expression one of complete awe.

Willow couldn't help but smile at him; his expression was just so sweet. She was suddenly struck with the obvious differences between this Spike and the vampire she had first met. It wasn’t like he hadn't always been emotional; it was just that she’d never taken the time to notice it before. She remembered when he'd kidnapped her and Xander. She’d been terrified out of her mind, but his broken heart had been so obvious that even though she was scared, she’d still felt sorry for him. But her terror of him was gone now. Oh, she was sure that he could still be scary, but she was pretty close to being convinced that it wouldn't be directed at them anymore. More likely it would be directed at someone threatening them. Who’da thunk the Big Bad would turn into the Big Bad Protector? she thought, amused.

"But don't think that means I completely trust you, Mister. You and I still have some bottle-in-the-face issues to deal with. But that's between you and me and so beside the point. Riley Finn doesn't get to tell me what to do. Sheesh, I don't even let Xander get away with that!" she smiled as she spoke, trying to soften that fact that she wasn't quite there with the full trust-age yet. She didn't want to hurt him, but she wanted him to understand her concerns.

Spike nodded eagerly, he knew that by the next day she wouldn't remember any of this conversation, but it gave him hope that the hope of friendship wasn't as far out of the realm of possibility as he had believed.

"Willow, where is Buffy? We need to let her know to get Finns serial number. And we still have to locate the prophecy." Giles was glad that the young redhead appeared to be accepting of the vampire, but the number of useful hours they had left in the day was beginning to concern him. He had no desire to continue to relive the same day over any longer than they had to, regardless of the perks. Something did have to be said for not having to endure well-deserved hangovers.

Willow considered for a moment. She wanted to make sure she didn't ruffle any feathers. Turning to the watcher, she made a suggestion rather than directly answer him. "Giles, why don't you start with the research and Tara and I will have a little chat with the sunlight challenged to see if we can get to the real reason why Buffy has decided to be all avoid-y girl."

The deep gulp and the look of guilt warring with stubbornness on the face of the vampire piqued Giles’ interest. He refrained from arguing with the girl that was now facing Spike, her resolve face firmly in place.

~~~~~~~

"Let me get this straight. You’re refusing to fall in love with Buffy because Drusilla has been saying for ages that you're already in love with Buffy, and you refuse to be manipulated any more by the women in your life?" Willow questioned, skeptically.

"Unlife, and yes," Spike stated firmly.

"Um, Spike?" Tara spoke with hesitation. "You do realize that you're already in love with Buffy, right?"

"No, I'm not." His wide eyed stare and the childishly stubborn tone were not at odds with the pout of displeasure that he gave to the two girls.

Both girls giggled.

"Ya-huh," Willow happily informed him.

"You really are, sweetie," Tara agreed with the grinning redhead.

Giles left his seat at the dining table and walked towards the small kitchenette, sharply smacking the blond across the back of the head as he went. "Pillock. Of course you're bloody well in love with her. I doubt even Xander could deny that with a straight face."

"But, I can’t be," Spike whispered with an uncharacteristic show of fear.

Tara reached for his hands. Her manner gentle, coaxing. "Why, Spike?"

"Buffy doesn't think demons can love. She's never gonna believe it." He told them all in voice filled with quiet resignation. "And even if by some miracle she did believe it, she's never gonna let herself love me. Not after what happened with Peaches. I'm bloody well tired of always coming out second best to that bastard, but the fact is I'm just not lovable."

"Um, Spike? Buffy already thinks you love her and I’m pretty sure she's lost the whole Angel-is-my-soul-mate train of thought and moved onto the Spike-may-be-a-stubborn-jackass-but-he's-my-stubborn-jackass way of thinking. And second place? Blue ribbon and gold cup is more like it," Willow asserted calmly. "As to the whole unlovable bit; personally I think Buffy would agree with me when I say I’d take you over Angel any old day, cause that whole broody thing he's got going on is sooo of the not appealing."

Spike lifted an eyebrow and chuckled at the witch. "You'd take me, Red? What does our Glinda think of that?"

"Oh, um, well…you know...if I wasn't gay. Tara? Sweetie, what is it?" Willow asked as she noticed how pale her girlfriend had become.

"Um, demons c-can love. They c-can."

"Sure they can. Can't they Spike?" Willow rushed to reassure, not sure what had upset her girlfriend.

"Bloody right they can," the vampire readily agreed. Sharp tingling erupted from his bite mark and Spike pursued the subject that he knew they had to fix. "My tinglies are telling me there's something wrong here, pet. Best let us in on the problem, Glinda," Spike gently urged.

Tara took a deep breath and turned to her lover. "W-willow, there's something you should know." She paused, taking in the redhead’s concerned look. Willows support of Spike and Buffy's newly developing relationship, along with the fact that her previous boyfriend was a werewolf, made Tara feel this was the perfect time to reveal her deepest, darkest secret...and her worst fear. It was now or never.

Focusing firmly on her hands, Tara was unable to watch the faces of the ones she had come to care so much about in such a short time, afraid to see their looks of disappointment, horror, or disgust, and so very afraid that the truth would cost her Willow. She once again heard her father’s voice telling her over and over that no one but family would love a demon.

"M-my dad, he a-always said if anyone found out, well, that they wouldn't understand w-what I am, w-what I will be," she said slowly. Miserably. "That o-only family could deal with someone like m-me."

Spike growled softly already seeing where this was headed, "Deal with what, pet?"

"The women in my f-family. They all b-become d-demons when they turn twenty," she all but whispered her admission.

"Bollocks," Spike snorted in response and wasn't really surprised when his bite marks started to tingle pleasantly.

"No, it’s true," Tara sadly replied.

"That's not what my tinglies are tellin' me. I don't know why your dad said what he said but you are all human, and I can prove it, Glinda."

"How, Spike?" Giles asked out of curiosity. He didn't believe for a moment that dishwater blond was correct and seriously hoped to one day meet the bugger that had so mistreated the gentle Wiccan.

The vampire reached a hand out to the miserable girl, grabbed a lock of hair and gave it a sharp tug. The reaction was instantaneous. Blinding pain stabbed in his head. His cry of pain echoed by Tara's.

"You know we could have just done a simple spell, no need to go all headachy, you big doofus!"

Holding his head, he mumbled, “Yeah, well, spells take time. Time’s something that’s not really my friend right now.”

“See, baby. You’re not a demon. It wouldn’t hurt him if you were.” The redhead assured her, rubbing her girlfriend’s hands with her own.

Tara smiled softly. The tears in her eyes blurred her vision of the blonde. She wasn’t a demon. “Thank you, Spike. What do you mean time’s not your frie