Avocation by Enigmaticblue

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Chapters 36-41

Chapter 36

"My heart is like a singing bird/Whose nest is in a watered shoot;/My heart is like an apple-tree/Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;/My heart is like a rainbow shell/That paddles in a halcyon sea;/My heart is gladder than all these/Because my love is come to me./Raise me a dais of silk and down;/Hang it with vair and purple dyes;/Carve it in doves and pomegranates,/And peacocks with a hundred eyes;/Work it in gold and silver grapes,/ In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;/Because the birthday of my life/Is come, my love is come to me." ~Christina Rossetti, "A Birthday"

Oz was fairly certain that dating Willow had taken at least fifteen years off of his life. There had been the time that she'd nearly gotten burned to death, then the time she'd shown up as a vampire, and now this latest debacle with Faith and the Mayor.

And that was just this school year. There had been plenty of close calls last year too.

The only reason he'd allowed Willow to go home by herself last night was because it was too late to do anything else. Late enough that it didn't even make much sense to go to bed, since they would both soon have to get up for school.

He had band practice the next night, and so it was late evening before Oz managed to meet Willow at the school library. They were all spending as much time researching the Mayor's Ascension as they could, especially given the fact that it seemed inevitable at this point.

Oz couldn't regret making the trade, though. Not when Willow sat next to him, throwing occasional glances in his direction. In response, Oz entwined his fingers with hers.

"Have you gotten your dress yet?" Buffy whispered, obviously trying to avoid bringing the wrath of Giles down on them.

Willow shook her head. "I haven't even started looking. What about you?"

Buffy made a face. "I don't know if I'm going."

"What?" Willow's exclamation had Giles glaring at them.

"If you two can't research, then don't distract the rest of us," he snapped.

Willow and Buffy ducked their heads, starting their conversation up again as soon as it looked like Giles wasn't paying attention to them. "What?" Willow repeated, quietly this time.

Buffy shrugged. "I haven't talked to Spike about it, and I don't know if he'd even want to go."

"But it's our last prom!" Willow protested in a whisper. "You have to go!"

"It's not that big of a deal," Buffy said, trying to sound like it really didn't matter to her.

Willow put on her resolve face. "Yes, it is. You're going. Oz will help."

Oz had been a silent participant up to this point, and now he raised an eyebrow. "I will?"

"Won't you?" Willow cajoled. "You can help Spike find a tux."

He shrugged. "As long as Spike is okay with it."

"He'll be okay with it," Willow stated. Oz didn't bother asking how she was going to make sure of that. His girlfriend was wearing her resolve face, and that usually meant she got what she wanted.

It was probably a good thing he thought that a determined Willow was adorable.

~~~~~

"Willow." Spike stepped back from the doorway. "To what do I owe this honor?"

The vampire was apparently in a very good mood. Willow had noticed that he was usually either all business or surly when he wasn't happy. Spike only teased when he had cause to be cheerful. Willow was glad to see it, since that would make her job easier.

"I need to talk to you."

"Figured that." He started off towards the kitchen. "Tea?"

"Um, sure," she replied, trailing along behind him. "Prom is coming up."

Spike glanced over his shoulder at her. "Prom?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't give me that innocent act. I know you've seen enough movies to know exactly what a prom is. You're not that out of touch with pop culture."

Spike's lips twitched, and he started filling the kettle. "Fancy dresses, monkey-suits, bad music, concentration of hormones. Right?"

Willow didn't argue. She merely added, "And a teenage rite of passage. Ours is coming up. You need to take Buffy."

"I do, huh?"

"Don't play dumb, Spike!" Willow scolded. "Every other dance has been completely ruined for her. Spring Fling was when the Master showed up, the ghosts and Angelus pretty much killed the Sadie Hawkins dance, Homecoming was SlayerFest..." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you getting the picture?"

Spike decided that Willow was not going to react well to teasing. She was too intent on her goal of getting him to agree to take Buffy to prom. Honestly, it wasn't something that had even crossed his mind, simply because it wasn't on his radar screen. Since Buffy hadn't said anything to him about it, he hadn't thought about it.

He sat down across from her at the table. "So what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to make sure Buffy has the best prom ever," Willow replied. "And a tux is required. I already asked Oz, and he said he'd help you rent one."

Spike laughed. He couldn't help himself. "I know how to get my hands on a tux, pet. This won't be the first occasion I've had to go to a black-tie affair. Right before I came to Sunnydale, I—" Spike broke off, realizing that the story was probably not one he ought to be telling to an impressionable young girl. "Point is, I can get a tux."

Willow wasn't sure she trusted him to get it right. "You should take Oz along just in case," she suggested.

"If you like," Spike said, not too bothered one way or the other. The werewolf was good company. "Anything else I ought to know about?"

"Tickets," Willow said, suddenly remembering. "You'll need to get tickets. Or Buffy could get them, but—"

"Let me guess," Spike interrupted. "It's traditional for the bloke to purchase them."

Willow nodded. "Oh, and a corsage, you know. Maybe dinner before if you can manage it."

"I can manage all manner of things, Red," Spike replied. "How about I get you the money, and you can get the tickets for me?"

She smiled, relieved that she hadn't even had to pull out her resolve face to convince him. "Okay," she chirped. Willow paused. "Spike?"

"Yeah?" he said, pouring the tea for both of them.

She frowned. "How come you didn't argue about this?"

Spike sighed. "Buffy—she's never going to be your typical girl, yeah? And I figure she'll miss out on enough of the things your typical girl gets to do, including having a normal boyfriend." He smiled wistfully. "If I can give her a nice evening—why not? Besides, it'll be nice to be the bloke with the most gorgeous girl on my arm. Haven't had many chances for that."

Willow gave him a sharp look. "What were you like when you were a human, Spike?"

"Wasn't that special," Spike replied, and the look in his eyes made it very clear that he wasn't giving out any more information on that front. "Let's just say that I never made it to any fancy parties with a girl on my arm."

Willow felt a sudden kinship with Spike. She'd often gotten the impression that he was just like her and Xander and the rest under the surface. It made her like him even more. "I'll get the tickets for you."

"Thanks, Red," Spike replied. "And thanks for letting me know about this. Wouldn't have wanted Buffy to miss this because I was a git."

Willow just raised an eyebrow. "I'm counting on you to make it a good night."

"Oh, I'm planning on it," Spike replied, his expression very much like that of a cat contemplating a saucer of cream. "It'll be a night she won't forget."

~~~~~

Spike gave Oz a wry look as he exited his house. "So Willow got you roped into this, too?"

The boy shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal, and it'll make her happy."

"That's what it's about," Spike murmured. "Making them happy."

Oz smiled. "It's worth it."

"It certainly will be," Spike said. "Xander coming?"

Oz shook his head. "He's got his own guy he's getting a tux from. I think they're related somehow."

Spike raised his eyebrows. "Is that safe?"

The only visible sign of amusement was the twinkle in Oz's eyes, and you had to look closely to catch that. "I don't know, but knowing his date, he'd better come up to scratch."

"Who's he taking?" Spike asked, more out of idle curiosity than any real desire to know. "Not Cordelia."

"She's got her eye on Wesley." Oz ignored Spike's snort of amusement. "Xander's taking Anya."

Spike frowned, trying to remember if he'd ever met her. "Do I know her?"

"She's new, so probably not." His lips twitched. "She said she found Xander less repulsive than any of the other guys at school."

Oz knew his audience; Spike nearly lost it. "She said that? And he's going with her? Is the boy that desperate?"

He shrugged. "It was Anya or no one. She used to be a vengeance demon or something."

Spike lifted an eyebrow. He'd met a few vengeance demons in his time. He'd even spent a couple of nights with one back in the '30's. They had both been in between assignments, and it had been nice to pass the time with a woman who knew who and what he was. Since she focused mainly on lovers who were cheated on—of either sex—they got on quite well.

"Huh. Lost her powers then? Tough luck."

Oz didn't argue. Although he didn't think anyone was sorry that there was one less demon to worry about, Spike had a unique perspective that the rest of them lacked. For his part, Oz wouldn't have minded shedding his darker half. The wolf was never something he was comfortable with.

Their conversation basically ended when they reached the formalwear store. Oz had ostensibly gone along to help Spike, but the vampire was obviously an old hand. They were in and out in a little over a half hour, and Oz couldn't resist satisfying his own curiosity when they'd left. "I thought Willow said you needed help."

Spike smirked. "Red thought I needed help." He hesitated, deciding that what he probably shouldn't tell Willow could be confided in Oz. "Last job I did before I came required showing up at a black-tie event. Never pays to buy your clothes for that kind of thing because there's always a good chance it'll get ruined."

"Makes sense," Oz commented.

Spike was warming up to his story now. "Anyway, I needed a date to look authentic so I hired a girl. Didn't have much in the way of brains, you know, but she looked good." He made a face. "I should have asked for a smart one."

Oz raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"So I left the girl by the bar with strict instructions to wait for me there," Spike said. "Bought her a drink to keep her occupied and went off to find my target. I had to do a bit of maneuvering to get him alone, since he was a vamp and watching somebody dust tends to rile the crowds."

"True." Oz well remembered watching his first vampire dust, although he couldn't say that he was "riled." More like interested.

"Found him, staked him, and then this screaming started up." Spike shook his head. "Stupid bint had followed me, and she brought the whole place down on us. Had to fight my way out of there, and I had to fight her too while I was at it since she thought I was some kind of freak. Finally had to knock her out just so I could think. Ended up completely ruining that tux." He grimaced. "Didn't even get paid for the job. Bloody bastards said the deal was for me to get out clean."

Oz frowned. "What happened to your date?"

"Dumped her in a hotel room with the cash for the night." Spike shrugged. "Figured she'd explain it all away. By all rights, I shouldn't have had to pay the chit. She was the one who cost me my fee."

Oz didn't think it was so strange that Spike had paid the woman, even if he grumbled about it. He had a pretty good idea of Spike's character at this point, and he got the sense that the vampire wouldn't leave somebody behind, and he wouldn't cheat them out of what they were due.

At the same time, Spike would probably have no difficulty cheating at cards. It was a conundrum.

"Have you talked to Buffy about going yet?" Oz asked.

Spike shook his head. "Figured we'd get around to discussing it tonight." He checked his watch. "I'm supposed to be meeting her about now anyway."

Oz could see that Spike was impatient to be off, since he was bouncing on his toes. "I've got to get to practice."

"Willow going to be there?" Spike asked with a knowing grin.

Oz smiled. "Yeah. I've got my own groupie now."

Their eyes met in shared understanding—two men who were hopelessly in love with their girls. In the end, nothing more needed to be said.

~~~~~

Buffy shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't like Spike to keep her waiting on his porch. She was beginning to wonder if she shouldn't just start patrol without him. It wasn't as though he wouldn't be able to track her tonight.

She shook her wrist, feeling the cool silver hit the back of her hand. Knowing what she did, Buffy wasn't about to leave it at home again. Not unless she had to for some reason, or Spike was with her.

Sighing, Buffy gave up, turning to go.

"Buffy!" Spike came jogging up the walk. "Sorry I'm late, luv. Had to run an errand."

She smiled, relieved. "No biggie."

"I'd have called to let you know, but you're not the one with a cell phone," Spike teased.

Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "Talk to my mom. She's the one in charge of that sort of thing."

"Might be able to arrange something," Spike said nonchalantly. "I could point out how useful it would be in emergencies."

"If you can talk her into that, you will be a miracle worker," Buffy replied, falling into step next to him. "So what was your errand?"

"Had to get a tux, didn't I?"

"A tux? What—" Buffy stopped, staring at him. "Willow talked to you."

"She said prom was coming up in a week or so." Spike gave her a gently chiding look. "Why didn't you tell me it was coming, luv?"

Buffy shrugged. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal, and I know you—I didn't know if you would want to go. It's a kid thing, and—"

"It's your thing, Summers," Spike interrupted. "That's good enough for me. Like I told Red, it's not like I've never gone to a fancy party before. I think you can trust me."

"That's not an issue." Buffy hesitated. "I just didn't want to assume you'd go, and then with Faith and everything else..."

Spike shrugged. "It'll keep for a night." He tilted his head and tucked his tongue behind his teeth. "Could be for a whole night."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "So that's what this is? You're going to the prom with me just so you can get into my pants," she said, feigning anger. "Just like a guy."

"You know it," he shot back. "Unless you have a problem with that." Spike leered at her. "I've got all the time in the world."

"How long would you wait?" Buffy was suddenly completely serious in one of her quick changes of mood.

Spike frowned slightly, giving the question the serious consideration he thought it was due. "Dunno," he said honestly. "Longer than most maybe. I'd like to say I'd wait forever, but—well, I may not be human, but the same principle applies."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think I could wait forever either. I've never been patient-girl." Buffy slipped her hand into his as they started walking again. "Do you ever think about what the Mayor said, Spike? About being immortal?"

He pulled her in closer, putting his arm around Buffy's shoulders. Although Spike appeared to be intent on their conversation—and he was—he was too much of a hunter to completely pull his attention away from their surroundings, ready for any hint of danger.

At the moment, though, this thing between them was more important than demon hunting.

"There are times," he admitted. "You?"

"Sometimes." Buffy couldn't believe she was actually talking about this, but then again she'd developed the habit of talking to Spike long before they'd started going out. Now that they'd seemed to get most of the wrinkles ironed out of their relationship (for the moment), it was easy to talk to him again. "I have a hard time thinking that I'm going to live long enough to make it a problem."

Spike didn't bother to hide his wince, although he didn't tell her not to say things like that, or something similar to shut her down. "You might surprise yourself, pet."

"Maybe," Buffy admitted. "I guess it doesn't seem like that big of a concern right now, you know? Most of the time, I can't see past next week. Thinking about actually growing old makes my brain hurt."

"Then I guess we just don't think of it for now, yeah?"

"Sounds like a plan." They walked along in silence for a while, enjoying the night and each other's company. "Spike?"

"Yeah, Buffy?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Dunno. Thought so at the time, but looking back I'm not so sure. Not knowing what I do now."

Buffy didn't bother asking him what he knew now. She had the feeling that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

~~~~~

Giles opened the door with a warm smile for the woman on the other side. "Joyce."

Their kiss was neither chaste nor brief. "Mmm." She smiled contentedly. "Hello to you too."

"Does Buffy know where you are tonight?" Giles asked, taking the paper bag full of groceries from her.

"Oh, I'm sure," Joyce replied airily. "But since she's with Spike, neither of us are inclined to ask too many questions."

"I do admire how you're handling this."

"What do you mean?" she asked, unsure what exactly Giles was referring to.

He started setting the fresh vegetables and meat on the counter, trying to decide how to frame his response. It had been his suggestion to have dinner in, rather than going out. As much as Giles enjoyed the physical aspects of his relationship with Joyce, there were many other things he appreciated about her company. Not least was the opportunity to have a conversation with another adult, not surrounded by adolescents.

Well, there was always Wesley, but the other Watcher seemed little more than a child himself at times. Really, the way he devolved to a stuttering lump when Cordelia came around. It was shameful.

That was why Giles had been looking forward to this dinner all day. He certainly didn't want to ruin it right off by sticking his foot in his mouth. "The way you've handled all this," Giles said, struggling to find the right words. "You've been the epitome of grace under fire these last months."

Joyce found herself blushing like a schoolgirl. "Rupert..."

"I mean it," he continued, seeing that she was going to brush off his compliment. "With all that you've had to deal with, I just wanted you to know how much I admire you."

Joyce shook her head. "There's nothing to admire, really. I'm just doing the best I can, just like anyone else would be."

"Not like anyone else," Giles said hoarsely. "Not at all."

Needless to say, dinner didn't get made until much later.

Chapter 37

"The fountains mingle with the river/And the rivers with the ocean,/The winds of Heaven mix for ever/With a sweet emotion;/Nothing in the world is single,/All things by a law divine/In one spirit meet and mingle—/Why not I with thine?/See the mountains kiss high Heaven/And the waves clasp one another;/No sister-flower would be forgiven/If it disdained its brother;/And the sunlight clasps the earth,/And the moonbeams kiss the sea—/What are all these kissings worth/If thou kiss not me?" ~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Love's Philosophy"

"Mmm, Spike—we have to go."

"I know." His fingers didn't slow, and Buffy breathed out a heavy sigh, melting bonelessly under his touch.

"We have the meeting." Buffy knew she didn't sound convincing. She didn't want to leave either.

His fingers bore down just a little harder. "One more minute," he cajoled.

"Then it'll be another five," she responded, echoing exactly what Spike had been saying for the last fifteen minutes. Not that she wanted him to stop. She didn't. Buffy let out a little gasp as Spike found the last knot behind her shoulder blade and pressed, the pain startling her before it was released, leaving behind a very relaxed Slayer.

Buffy sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Spike wiped the massage oil off of his hands with a towel. "Any time, luv." Buffy had come over to finalize their plans for the evening and had made a comment about her neck being stiff. Before she knew it, Spike had gotten out the massage oil. The telephone call about the emergency meeting had come right in the middle of the Slayer's massage, but Spike had insisted on finishing before they left saying that she should be relaxed for their big night.

"Maybe you'll let me return the favor tonight," she suggested, pulling her shirt over her head. When Spike looked pained, turning away to look for something, Buffy put a hand on his arm. "I don't care about the scars, Spike."

He wouldn't look at her. It wasn't that he was self-conscious about his appearance—hardly. It was simply that the way he looked, the scars that marked him, had never mattered to anyone before. Anyone except for him, at least.

Buffy traced the scar that ran through his eyebrow. "So where did this one come from?"

"Where else?" Spike replied. "It was right before the gypsies caught up with us again." He was quiet a moment. "He had a knife and I got in the way."

"I think it's kind of cool." Buffy pressed her lips to the scar, to his opposite cheek where the faintest of lines could be seen, to his lips. "Is it tonight yet?" she whispered.

"No, and if we don't get moving, Rupert will see to it that we don't make it 'til then," Spike said ruefully, cupping her face with his hand. He wasn't quite sure what to say, and that was a rarity for him. Spike wanted to tell her what she had done for him—what this place had done. He felt like a new man.

Spike had always lived hard and lived for the moment. He liked his work, and he liked living the good life when he could.

But what he had forgotten was how it felt to love another person—and he'd never really known what it meant to have someone love you back. Spike hadn't felt this good since Drusilla had first turned him—before he'd turned his mother and tainted his new life, before Angelus had taken his girl away from him, before all of that.

Buffy turned her head to kiss the palm of his hand. "Let's go before Giles sends out a search party."

~~~~~

Xander wasn't sure quite what to think. There was a part of him that delighted in the fact that Cordelia had finally joined the world of the working class. The other part of him, the part of him he actually liked, could see just how difficult this probably was for her.

It would be like Willow losing her smarts, or Buffy losing her strength, or him losing his sense of humor. What do you do when you lose something that makes you, you?

"Bloody hell," Spike murmured as they played the tape through again. "Haven't seen a hellhound in a long time."

"You've seen them before?" Willow asked.

Spike nodded absently, watching as the hellhound tore into the boy trying on a tuxedo. "Yeah, guy I knew kept them as guard dogs."

"What happened?" Willow focused on Spike rather than on the TV, not wanting to see the attack again. Buffy was doing the same thing.

Spike shrugged. "Killed them and killed him."

"The hellhounds were bred for the Machash Wars," Giles said. "They're killing machines, feeding on the brains of their enemies."

"They are particularly vicious," Wesley agreed. "It's imperative that we find whoever is controlling this beast and stop it."

"What I don't understand is why that thing has such good taste," Cordelia commented. "It chucked Xander and went right for the guy in the tux."

Spike frowned. "She's right. It was right on top of Harris."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Cordelia said. "It doesn't make any sense that something that ugly would know good clothes. Look at the suit. It's got really clean lines."

Wesley cleared his throat. "If we could stay on topic, please." He looked at Cordelia. "What were you doing in the shop?"

"What?" Cordelia's eyes went wide. "Um, I—"

"What else?" Xander asked, interrupting. Maybe Cordelia had deserved to get knocked down a peg or two, but that didn't mean that anyone else had to know about it. He knew how badly she wanted to keep her new status a secret. "Burning a hole through daddy's credit card."

"Pause the tape," Oz said, leaning forward.

Wesley hit the pause button, and Oz pointed at the figure on the screen. He was standing by the store window with a black device. "I think we found our hellraiser."

It took some searching, but Oz finally identified the boy in the tape as Tucker Wells.

"Let me guess," Wesley said dryly. "He was quiet, kept to himself, but always seemed like a nice young man."

"He didn't seem the murderous type anyway," Oz replied. "Something must have happened to him."

"Hey! I got into Tucker's email account," Willow announced excitedly. "Listen to this email he sent to another kid. 'Those Sunnydale High lemmings don't know what awaits them. Their big night will be their last night.'"

Giles summarized. "So we have a threat against students on their big night, hellhounds trained to attack people in formal wear..." He trailed off, realizing where that was leading.

"Oh, are we catching up now?" Cordelia asked snidely.

Oz sighed. "As usual, Sunnydale knows how to put the special in special occasion."

Buffy laughed bitterly. "Why am I even surprised?"

"Don't even think about it," Spike warned her. When everybody turned to stare at him, the vampire nearly snarled. "I did not spend good money to rent a bloody suit and get tickets to have my girl cheated out of her big night by some maladjusted git."

Buffy straightened. "Spike's right. We're going to have a prom, and it's going to be perfect. Wesley, go by Tucker's house. I doubt he'll be there, but it won't hurt to check."

Wesley hesitated, then nodded. "Safety in numbers might be—"

"You can take Cordelia," Buffy said.

"Right, that should be fine," Wesley replied, knowing that he wasn't going to get much else in the way of concessions from her.

"Oz, you said you know this kid that Tucker emailed?" When Oz nodded, she went on. "See if you and Willow can't track him down."

"What about the magic shop?" Spike asked. "Might as well check to see who's been buying supplies to raise hellhounds recently."

"I can go," Xander volunteered, thinking that the dress shop was near by. Maybe he could do something to make up for what he'd done to Cordelia. Just a little.

Buffy nodded. "Good." She glanced over at Spike. "You up for checking out the meat packing plant?"

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Pinky?"

She laughed. "I think it's time we see who's in the market for brains."

~~~~~

The guy at the meat packing plant was helpful enough, giving her the address Tucker had his brains delivered to without a lot of questions. As soon as they got the address, Spike called the library. "I'm sorry, Spike, but we've found nothing on our end."

"We've got an address," Spike replied. "The Slayer and I will check it out and meet you lot at the dance. Best not to wait on us."

"Are you sure?" Giles asked. "Perhaps—"

"You lot have a good time and keep the dance floor warm for us. We'll take care of it." Spike smiled at Buffy. "Between the two of us, we should have this wrapped up in no time."

"Are they going?" Buffy asked as soon as Spike got off the phone.

Spike shrugged. "Giles said he'd pass along the message. There's not much they can do without the information we have, so it makes sense for them to enjoy themselves."

"Thank you."

He lifted an eyebrow. "What for?"

"For making this a really good night, hellhounds and all."

He shook his head. "Let's just get this taken care of. You can thank me when we're dancing."

~~~~~

It was surprisingly easy to deal with Tucker and his dogs. Buffy and Spike arrived just as he released the first hound, and Spike dealt with the beast while the Slayer tackled Tucker. After killing all the demons, Spike dropped Buffy off at her house before driving home to grab a quick shower and change into his tux.

By the time he arrived at Buffy's house, the prom was just starting, which meant that they wouldn't miss much, even if they were fashionably late.

Joyce answered the door when he knocked. "Spike, you look very nice."

"I clean up pretty well," he replied modestly.

Joyce merely raised an eyebrow, although she thought "pretty well" was something of an understatement. If she didn't miss her guess, Buffy was going to be with the best looking guy there, and she couldn't help but be happy for her daughter. Joyce was thankful that Buffy was going to get at least one normal high school experience.

She met his eyes. "I won't wait up."

"Probably best," he agreed. "I'll take good care of her."

Joyce knew that he wasn't just referring to that night, and she appreciated the promise. Oddly enough, it seemed that a vampire might be her daughter's best hope for survival. "I know you will."

Spike's gaze went right past Joyce to a point beyond her shoulder, and she turned to see Buffy coming down the stairs. The Slayer had put her speed to good use, and she couldn't have looked better if she'd spent hours on her appearance.

Spike stepped to the foot of the stairs, holding out his hand for her like a true gentleman. Buffy took his hand, amazed that the suave man standing in front of her was the same guy as the punk she'd met when he first got to town. Spike looked incredible, his tuxedo perfect, his hair elegantly mussed—and he was hers.

"You look amazing," he whispered, bringing her hand to his lips in an old-fashioned gesture that made her knees go weak.

She smiled at him. "You too. Really amazing."

"Shall we?"

Buffy paused to kiss her mom goodnight, and then she allowed Spike to escort her to the car. "This is so weird," she said as they were driving to the school.

"That's not something a guy likes to hear on a date," Spike said.

Buffy shook her head. "No, not you. Going to prom without having to worry about hellhounds or vampires or demons. Just being—"

"Buffy? Instead of the Slayer?"

As usual, Spike knew what she was feeling almost before she did. "Yeah. That."

"I've told you before, luv, this is new for me," Spike said softly. "I don't know how to do this because I never got the chance to try." He paused, glancing over at her as he cut the engine on the Mustang. "But I want to make this work. I'm a long-haul sort of guy."

"I know, and I'm glad for it."

They walked inside the school hand in hand, meeting up with Giles just inside the door. "How did it go?"

"Good," Buffy said. "It's all taken care of."

"You hungry, Buffy?" Spike asked nodding towards the food table.

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "No, that's okay. The food they have at these things is never great."

"It's not too bad tonight," Giles said.

"I'll get you a plate," Spike said, disappearing into the crowd, leaving Buffy to look after him fondly.

Giles didn't need his glasses to see the glow on her face. "You look lovely tonight, Buffy."

"Thanks," she replied. "You look pretty dapper yourself."

Giles straightened his collar self-consciously. "Yes, well, chaperones are supposed to blend, the better to spy on the students. At least, that's what Snyder assures me of."

"You should have asked Mom to come tonight," Buffy said quietly. "I'll bet she would have been your date."

He cleared his throat. "I had no desire to make you uncomfortable."

"Well, I'm not saying I'd be jumping up and down for joy, but—" Buffy took a deep breath, well aware that she was about to blow her image as an oblivious teen. "She's been happier with you around."

"I'm glad," Giles replied, pausing. "I didn't want..."

"I know. You didn't. It's good."

Spike appeared just then, juggling two plates and a glass of punch for Buffy, and doing a much better job of it than most of the other guys attempting the same feat. "Here you are."

"I didn't realize you were hungry."

Spike just gave her a look. "It's about blending in, pet. A little trick I've picked up over the years."

The impending squabble was cut off by the arrival of Willow and Oz. "Buffy!" Willow beamed at her. "You look amazing!"

"Ditto," she replied. "Hey, Oz."

"How'd things go?" he asked.

"Just fine." Spike took a tentative bite out of some hors d'ouevre he didn't recognize and then popped the rest into his mouth. "Got there just in time."

"Have we missed anything?" Buffy asked.

"The lines for the punch," Willow replied. "That's pretty much it. You guys were a lot faster than we thought you'd be."

"We're speedy," Buffy agreed. She put down her plate and cup as a slow song came up. "Let's dance."

Spike wasn't given a chance to protest as she pulled him out onto the dance floor.

"Oz?"

He could take a hint. Oz didn't waste any time leading Willow out onto the dance floor. Giles watched the two couples for a moment before joining Wesley over at the punch table. "How did everything turn out?" Wesley asked.

"Quite well, it sounds like." Giles kept his eyes on his young charges. They had all matured quite a bit over the last year or two.

"Spike is quite amazing, isn't he?" Wesley asked.

Giles glanced at him sharply. "Pardon me?"

Wesley realized how that might sound. "For a vampire, I meant." He hesitated and then confessed, "I've been doing some reading, you know. I wasn't allowed—it wasn't something I had time for at the Academy. I thought he was nothing more than a myth."

"Hmm," was Giles noncommittal reply. "Spike is much more interesting in the flesh."

"How much of it is true?"

"I suppose you will have to ask him." Giles looked across the room to see Cordelia entering, looking just as lovely as ever. She paused as passed Xander, saying something to him that Giles couldn't quite catch. The boy just nodded. It was the most civilized exchange that Giles had seen for months.

Wesley had seen Cordelia at the same time, and he immediately started to fidget. He knew it was terribly improper to even be looking in her direction, but he couldn't help but think that one dance wouldn't be so bad.

Before Wesley could ask the older Watcher what he thought, another student asked Cordelia to dance. In spite of arriving without a date, it looked like her dance card would still be full.

Xander wandered up to the two of them shortly thereafter with Anya on his arm. "Giles! Wesley! How's it going?"

Giles couldn't keep himself from smiling. Xander sounded downright desperate to get a break from his date. Then again, that's what he got for taking an ex-vengeance demon to the prom. "Just fine." He smiled at Anya. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked politely.

"It isn't very exciting," she replied. "And I've had better food, but it's not too bad."

"How's that for an enthusiastic response?" Xander mumbled. A fast song came up, and he thought that maybe now would be a really good time to cut off the conversation. "Excuse us."

There were only a few more songs before the DJ cut the music and the MC for the evening walked up to the stage. "What's this then?" Spike asked Buffy in a whisper.

"They give out awards to the senior class," she replied. "I think Xander's hoping to get Class Clown."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "What? They pick names out of a hat?"

Buffy suppressed a smile. "No, the class votes. It's a thing."

Spike pulled her back against him, and Buffy leaned against his chest, her hands gripping his where they rested on her stomach. It had been an absolutely perfect evening, and it could only get better as far as Buffy was concerned. They would wait for the prizes to be given out, maybe dance another song or two, and then slip quietly away.

To do the thing they'd both been looking forward to for a while.

She was so lost in her thoughts of anticipation that it took Spike's hands on her shoulders to pull her out of it. "Buffy, look.”

The eyes of the student body seemed to turn to her at just that moment, and she could sense Spike fading back into the shadows. Jonathan was on the stage now, looking uncomfortable in his role as announcer. “We have another award to give out. It’s the first year for this one. I guess there were a lot of write-in votes. Anyway, the committee asked me to read this. ‘We're not good friends. Most of us never found the time to get to know you, but that doesn't mean we haven't noticed you. We don't talk about it much, but it's no secret that Sunnydale High isn't really like other high schools. A lot of weird stuff happens here.’”

Buffy turned her head as she heard various students in the crowd call out strange things they had seen, like zombies and hyena people. Whoever called out Snyder’s name got a few laughs. She wasn’t quite sure what they were all getting at, and her stomach was churning as she tried to anticipate what was coming next.

Jonathan waited for the crowd to quiet, and then he continued. “But, whenever there was a problem or something creepy happened, you seemed to show up and stop it. Most of the people here have been saved by you, or helped by you at one time or another. We're proud to say that the Class of '99 has the lowest mortality rate of any graduating class in Sunnydale history.” He paused to allow for applause. “And we know at least part of that is because of you.  So the senior class offers its thanks, and gives you, uh, this.”

Someone off-stage handed him a miniature, multi-colored umbrella with a plaque attached to its handle. “It’s from all of us,” Jonathan said. “And it says here, ‘Buffy Summers, Class Protector.’”

The Slayer wasn’t sure that it was the best moment of her life, but it was close. To hear the applause from her peers, the cheers—to know that they had noticed her efforts—it felt good. No one wanted to be taken for granted, and Buffy knew now that she hadn’t been.

As she walked up to the stage and took her prize, Buffy was aware that this might be the only time that her work as the Slayer was acknowledged, but that was okay. She had this moment, and a little something to remember it by.

Not to mention the fact that she’d gotten her perfect prom.

Buffy looked out into the crowd, and her eyes found Spike. She had no doubt that her night was about to get even better.

~~~~~

Buffy and Spike didn’t stick around for long after that. They danced a little longer, snickered over Wesley’s stuttered request for a dance with Cordelia, and then they said their goodnights.

The drive back to Spike’s place was short, and made in silence. Buffy could feel the quick flutter of anticipation in her belly. She was nervous, not knowing what it would be like this time. Would it be different? Better? What if she didn’t do it right? What if Spike was disappointed?

As though sensing her rising anxiety, Spike reached over and laced his fingers through hers. He could feel her racing pulse, and he squeezed her hand. “We don’t have to do this.”

“I want to,” she replied, sounding more certain than she felt.

Spike gave her a long look. “You know I wouldn’t hurt you, right? You trust me?”

She didn’t even have to think about it. “With my life.”

“Then we’re good.” Still playing the role of gentleman, Spike went around the car to open her door for her. They maintained contact as they entered the house. Spike locked the door, and Buffy trailed behind him to his bedroom.

When that door was closed, Spike turned to her, and his eyes were so hungry for her, that Buffy felt all her fears melt away. He wanted her; she wanted him.

Maybe this time it really would be that easy.

They didn’t speak. Words seemed somehow superfluous to the moment. There would be time enough to discuss the dance, and her prize, and what they felt for each other.

Instead, there were only the hurried movements of their fingers on buttons and zippers, the slow exploration of the other’s body, the soft whispers of skin on skin. There was nothing but each other and the moment, and that was enough.

Chapter 38

"...Oh, love is a journey with water and stars,/with drowning air and storms of flour;/love is a clash of lightnings,/two bodies subdued by one honey./Kiss by kiss I travel your little infinity,/your borders, your rivers, your tiny villages;/and a genital fire—transformed, delicious—/slips through the narrow roadways of the blood/till it pours itself, quick, like a night carnation, till it is:/and is nothing, in shadow, and a flimmer of light." ~Pablo Neruda, "Sonnet XII"

Buffy woke suddenly the next morning, the spot on the bed next to her empty. She sat up, her eyes searching the room, clutching the sheet to her chest. There was no sign of Spike, and she couldn't help but remember the last time she'd slept with a vampire and awoken alone.

It would be just her luck to have put Spike's soul in jeopardy right on the eve of the next Apocalypse.

"Hey, luv," Spike said as he nudged the door open with his foot. "Coffee?"

She stared at him. "Where were you?"

"Making coffee and seeing what I had for breakfast for you," he replied, wondering why the Slayer looked like she'd seen a ghost. "Something wrong?"

"No," she replied, trying to ignore her momentary panic. Spike was obviously still himself. "I'm good."

He sat down on the bed next to her, handing her the mug of coffee. "No, you're not." Spike brushed her hair out of her face. "You're okay, right? I didn't hurt you last night, did I?"

"No, not at all," she was quick to assure him. "Last night was—was it good?"

Spike pulled back a little, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know, luv. You tell me. I'm pretty sure you were there too." At the hurt that flashed across her face, he sighed. "Sorry, Buffy, but you're trampling my fragile ego here. If you're asking if it was good for me, then, yeah. Last night rates right up there as one of the best nights of my life."

Buffy flushed. "I—I'm sorry, Spike. I just—"

Spike suddenly put together the pieces of the puzzle. "Oh, bloody hell, pet. That's—" He cursed fluently. "You woke up to Angelus."

"Something like that," Buffy said. "When you weren't here, I just thought..."

He kissed her, slow and deep. "Still me," he murmured when he pulled back to let her catch her breath. "I know the kind of mind games that bastard played, Buffy, and whatever he said wasn't true. Take it from the guy in love with you. Last night was bloody marvelous."

They hadn't said the words yet. Sure, Buffy had her suspicions, but Spike hadn't told her that he loved her, even during their lovemaking. "You're in love with me?"

Spike gave her a sheepish grin. "Yeah. Not exactly how I planned on telling you, but—"

She cut him off with a kiss of her own. "I love you, too." The words were easier to say than she thought they'd be, falling off her lips with a naturalness she found surprising.

They stared at each other, neither one knowing what was supposed to come next. Their nervous laughter started at about the same time. "That wasn't so hard," Spike observed.

"No, it wasn't." Buffy glanced away shyly. "I didn't think I'd be able to say that again."

"I didn't either." Spike stroked her cheek. "Wish this thing with the Mayor wasn't hanging over us," he said wistfully. "I'd whisk you off someplace for a bit, just the two of us."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "You'd have to talk to my mom about that."

Spike winced. "Yeah. I keep forgetting about that. Speaking of—" He glanced at the clock. " She going to be completely brassed off about you not coming home last night?"

"Mom knew I was going to be out all night," Buffy replied. "I didn't tell her I was coming back here, but I imagine she could figure it out. I didn't want to lie, but—"

"Maybe not the best idea to tell the whole truth in this case, yeah?"

"Probably not." There was another self-conscious pause. "Thanks for going with me last night."

Spike smiled at her. "Any time you need an escort, you know who to call."

"You're the best."

"Don't you forget it. "

~~~~~

Faith didn't ask questions these days. In fact, she didn't even think the questions. It wasn't that she didn't know that what she was doing was wrong. She did. Killing a harmless old man in cold blood pretty much topped the list of "wrong things to do." The Mayor had said the guy needed killing, though, and so Faith took her knife and got to it.

She had started down this road, after all, and now she was stuck on it. Everyone had always said that she would come to a bad end, including her mother.

Faith wasn't going to come to a bad end, though. She was going to be the Mayor's right hand man. There was nothing bad about that. Maybe she'd be evil, but she'd be better off than Buffy and all her little friends.

Besides, maybe it wasn't so bad being evil, not when she had him . Not when he treated her better than anyone she'd ever known before.

Not when she finally had a family.

~~~~~

Spike came through the sewers, yawning. He hadn't been sleeping for long before Buffy called to inform him that they had a situation and new information on the Mayor. Would he come? He snorted to himself. Spike wished he'd been able to kill Angelus by more unpleasant means than a quick staking.

It was obvious that some of Buffy's more glaring vulnerabilities came from that bastard.

He hauled himself up through the manhole easily. Well, it didn't really matter. It was his job to get Buffy—and the rest of them—through this apocalypse, and then he could take his time making sure the Slayer understood just how wonderful she was.

Spike already had several sonnets floating through his head, much to his chagrin. Not that they were ever going to see the light of day, of course.

He walked into the library to find Anya the center of attention. "You've never seen a demon."

Buffy raised her hand. "Excuse me? I kill them professionally." She held out a hand in silent welcome for Spike. He came over to her side and put an arm around her waist.

"All the demons that walk the earth are tainted, human-hybrids." She shook her head. Spike could smell the fear radiating off of the girl. Whatever she'd seen, it had frightened her badly. "The Ascension means that someone becomes pure demon. They're different."

"Different how?" Giles asked.

Anya shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the memories. Xander's mention of the Ascension had her running scared. He had made her come and talk to these people, and all she wanted to do was run. It wasn't like she could teleport out anymore, so she needed to arrange transportation. She needed to leave before this demon rose, because there wasn't anything anyone could do to stop it.

"They're bigger for one thing," she finally replied.

"Bigger how?" Buffy asked.

Anya glared at her. "Much bigger! Bigger than you can ever hope to face! Are you even listening to me? If you stay, you will die, which is why I'm planning on getting out of town."

"Stay for just a little while," Giles coaxed. "The more we know, the better chance we have."

"You don't have a chance," Anya said sullenly, but she nodded anyway. "I'll stay for a while, and then I'm going to start packing."

Buffy pulled Spike off to the side once Giles started interrogating her on the rituals they knew the Mayor had been doing to prepare. "We've got a job tonight."

"What's that?" he asked, taking the newspaper from her when she handed it to him, frowning at the headline. For a second, Spike couldn't see the relevance that a murdered professor would have to their current problem, but then he saw that the man had been stabbed to death. "You're thinking Faith?"

Buffy nodded, glad that they were on the same page. "I don't know why the Mayor wanted him dead, but I think we should find out."

"I think you're probably right," he replied.

"Why is evil girl here?"

Both of them turned to see Willow and Oz entering the library. "Red really doesn't like the girl, does she?"

"Xander issues," Buffy said wisely. "Plus, Anya was partially responsible for bringing Willow 's doppelganger."

Spike nodded, then dipped his head down for a quick kiss. "Missed waking up next to you today."

Buffy stared at him. "You say the sweetest things."

"As long as I don't start spouting poetry," Spike muttered.

"Poetry is nice," Buffy replied. She might have risked another stolen kiss, but she saw the library doors swing open behind Spike and the Mayor enter.

Buffy wasn't quite sure how Spike moved so quickly, but he was immediately beside the table, putting himself within easy reach of the Mayor and her friends. The Slayer quickly followed after stuffing the newspaper behind a couple of books.

The Mayor was alone, and he paused to admire the stacks of books. "Well, so this is the inner sanctum. Faith told me this is where you concoct your little schemes." He chuckled, and the sound held more menace than laughter should have. "It's so nice to see kids interested in books in this modern age. So what are you reading?" Mayor Wilkins reached for the nearest book on the counter, inches away from Giles.

The Watcher stood his ground, his eyes flickering to the sword that lay on the counter. "'The beast will walk upon the earth and darkness will follow. The several races of man will be as one in their terror and destruction.' Aw, that's kind of sweet. All that coming together."

"You never get even a little tired of hearing yourself speak, do you?" Buffy asked.

The Mayor laughed. "That's one spunky girl you've raised. I'm gonna eat her."

Giles grabbed the sword laying on the counter and thrust it through the Mayor's chest in one smooth motion. The Mayor staggered back, but quickly regained his balance, pulling the sword out and wiping off the blade with a handkerchief. "Now, now, Mr. Giles," Mayor Wilkins scolded. "Violent outbursts in front of the children? They look to you to see how to behave."

"Get out," Buffy ordered.

The Mayor gave her a long, hard look. "I smell fear. That's smart. If it makes you feel any better, some of your deaths will be quick. Don't miss my commencement address." He tossed the sword on the counter and turned to leave. "It's going to be one heck of a speech."

Buffy could feel Spike's hands on her shoulders, providing an anchor. "Cocky bastard, isn't he?" Spike murmured in her ear.

The Slayer smiled a little at that. She took a deep breath. "Giles, I think we need to get started on this now."

"I agree, Buffy," he replied. "But there isn't much we can do at the moment. We don't even know what kind of demon the Mayor is going to become, much less know if he can be killed. If his invulnerability transfers..." He trailed off, and they all took a moment to think about how scary that would be. If the Ascension couldn't be stopped, and the Mayor couldn't be killed, fighting him seemed pretty pointless.

"I want to get my mom out of town," Buffy stated.

Giles nodded. "I think that may be wise. Would you like me to speak with her?"

She shook her head. "No, I think I should be the one to let her know what's going on."

"What do you want us to do, Buffy?" Willow asked.

Buffy gave her friend a grateful look but shook her head. " Nothing, Wills. There's really not much you can do, but if you could stay available, that would be good. Maybe this professor's death will give us something."

"Anything would be nice," Giles muttered.

"Then you mean to investigate at the scene of the crime?" Wesley asked. "I don't think it's wise to go by yourself ."

"Which is why I'll be going with her," Spike said. "We've got it covered, Watcher."

Buffy looked at Spike. "Do you mind sticking around while I get Mom on her way?"

"Go, luv. I'll be here." They shared a look, and then Buffy hurried out of the library, the others following close behind.

Spike looked at the two Watchers. "Well, we got any plans for how to spend our time?"

Giles picked up the sword the Mayor had tossed down. "How are you with a blade?"

"Fair," Spike replied, raising an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

"I want to work off some energy, and Wesley is hardly up to my standards." Giles ignored Wesley's very vocal protest. "Would you mind sparring?"

"Hardly." Spike's eyes glittered in anticipation. He had some energy of his own to work off. The eve before a battle always put him on edge. Spike stripped off his jacket and threw it at Wesley, then neatly caught the sword Giles tossed to him. "Watch and learn, Wesley."

Giles grinned, knowing that he could let Ripper out—for a little while anyway. "En garde!"

~~~~~

"I'm not leaving," Joyce repeated. "You and Rupert are staying."

"Mom, I can't be distracted worrying about you," Buffy replied. "I need to know that you're safe."

Joyce sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. "And that's not something I get."

"I'm sorry." Buffy sat next to her. "I know I'm not the daughter you wanted. I wish—"

"Buffy." Joyce cut her off. "You're everything I could have wished for, even if this wasn't what I'd planned." She took a deep breath. "I know I'm going to regret asking this but—how was your evening with Spike?"

Buffy knew exactly what her mom was referring to. She had actually arrived home shortly before her mom, who had apparently spent the night at Giles' apartment. They had eaten breakfast together, and Buffy told her all about the prom, but neither of them mentioned not spending the night at home.

Buffy had wondered if her mom would say anything, or if she'd just do the selective memory thing that she was usually so good at. It appeared that they were going to talk about it. "It was really good," she admitted. "He's—he's good to me, Mom."

"I know he is, sweetie," Joyce said, sighing over her little girl's growing up. Buffy wasn't a child anymore; she hadn't been a child for a very long time now. "Do you love him?"

"Yeah, and it's mutual." Buffy grimaced. "What about you and Giles? Do you—"

"I care for him a great deal."

Buffy leaned her head against her mom's shoulder. "I'll keep him safe, and Spike will keep me safe."

"You'll call as soon as you can?"

"Absolutely."

Joyce pressed her lips to Buffy's forehead. "Be careful."

"Careful as I can be."

~~~~~

"So what are we looking for?" Spike asked, looking around the small apartment.

Buffy shook her head. "I have no idea. The Mayor apparently sent Faith to kill him, so there was something here he didn't want us to know. What that might be..."

"Box it up?" Spike asked.

"Box it up."

They started collecting what papers and files they could find from the mess Faith and the police had left behind. It was mostly research in language Buffy found indecipherable, even if it was in English. "Volcanoes," Spike muttered, pausing to look at the top sheet of a sheaf of papers. "Odd thing for the Mayor to be worried about unless there's one about to erupt here in Sunnydale."

"Beats me. Who knows what's going on in his head?" Buffy asked rhetorically. "For all we know, he's crazy."

"Well, yeah," Spike replied. "So how'd your Mum take getting sent away?"

"About as well as you'd expect." Buffy straightened, stuffing one last folder in the box. "She asked me about prom night."

"Am I going to get staked the next time I see her?"

"No," Buffy replied, smiling. "We didn't actually talk about it, you know. It was more like we—talked around it. She's in love with my Watcher."

"That's been going on for a while," Spike said gently.

Buffy made a rueful face. "And I was too blind to see it."

"They were discreet," Spike corrected her. "Besides, if it was my mum, I'd have turned a blind eye too."

Buffy let him take the box from her hands, and then she fell into step beside him as they made their way back to his car. Spike had been forced to park a couple of blocks away for lack of available spots. "You know what really sucks?" she asked.

"What's that?"

"Everything should be good right now," she complained. "I've got a hottie for a boyfriend—" Buffy completely ignored Spike's good-natured leer in response to that comment. "—I'm going to graduate from high school, Mom and I are really getting along right now. I should be looking forward to a summer of hanging out with my friends, but the Mayor has to go and ruin it with a big apocalypse. It's not fair."

Spike considered that for a moment. "Good chance this is the one I was supposed to be here for. If it wasn't for the Ascension, I might never have come."

"Good point," Buffy pouted. "Darn it. Now I have to be thankful for an apocalypse. How messed up is that?"

"Probably not as messed up as a vampire falling for a Slayer," Spike replied dryly.

Buffy rolled her eyes, about to argue over who had fallen for who first, when she saw the arrowhead protrude through Spike's chest. She caught him easily, letting the box fall, looking around for their attacker, but she couldn't see anyone. "Spike?"

"I'm okay," he said through gritted teeth. "Bloody hell! I've been shot more times in the last year in this sodding town than in my entire history."

"That's Sunnydale for you," Buffy said, breathing a sigh of relief. If Spike wasn't dust, he would be fine. "Looks like I'm going to be driving your car after all."

Spike glared at her, but he didn't try to argue. He was in no shape to be driving and he knew it. "Put one scratch on my car, and you're dead meat."

Buffy shook her head, tucking the box of papers under one arm and wrapping the other around Spike's waist. "You do love your car more than me."

~~~~~

Willow hadn't been sure what a person's first time was supposed to be like. It wasn't as if she could ask Buffy what it had been like with Angel, not with how things had turned out. She'd gotten a few details about her night with Spike, but that wasn't really Buffy's first time, so Willow wasn't sure if she could anticipate anything based on Buffy's euphoric look when she'd asked the Slayer if it was good.

It was good, though. It was different than she'd expected, and now she felt different—as she'd tried so eloquently to explain to Oz.

But it was good. Making love with Oz made her feel connected to him in a way she'd never been connected to anyone else.

Even now his hands were gentle, and Willow could feel the steady thudding of his heart under her cheek as she lay against him. The moment couldn't have gotten any better.

Which was, of course, why they were interrupted by the ringing of a phone.

After she'd hung up, Willow started searching for her clothes. "Shirt, shirt, shirt," she muttered, shifting the bedclothes out of the way.

"What's happened?" Oz asked. He had already gotten his pants on and wordlessly handed Willow her shirt.

"Thanks," she said absent-mindedly. "It's Spike. Someone—probably Faith—shot him with a poisoned arrow. Buffy needs us."

Oz sat back down on the bed to pull his shoes on. "I didn't think poison worked on vampires."

"It doesn't normally." Willow had managed to recover the last of her clothing and she straightened it out, finger-combing her hair. She really hoped that their activities weren't going to be obvious to the rest of the gang.

She probably should have been looking up spells. If she'd stayed at the library, she could have been researching this poison already. Guilt started creeping in. If they hadn't—

"Stop it," Oz said gently. When Willow looked startled, he smoothed out a strand of her bright red hair. "There was nothing we could have done."

They rested their foreheads together for a brief moment, gathering themselves together. This had been but a brief respite. It had been necessary, and it had been good, but it was only a respite.

It was time to do battle again.

Chapter 39

"My love, if I die and you don't— ,/ My love, if you die and I don't—,/let's not give grief an even greater field. No expanse is greater than where we live./Dust in the wheat, and in the deserts,/time, wandering water, the vague wind/swept us on like sailing seeds./We might not have found one another in time./This meadow where we find ourselves,/O little infinity! we give it back./But Love, this love has not ended:/just as it never had a birth, it has/no death: it is like a long river,/only changing lands, and changing lips." ~Pablo Neruda, "Sonnet XCII"

By the time Willow and Oz arrived at the high school, they had already moved Spike back to his place, leaving Wesley to deliver the message and the broken arrow. "I would like to be of assistance, but Buffy asked me to call the Council," he said apologetically.

Willow smiled at him. "It's okay. I've got Oz and Xander."

"What are we going to do?" Xander asked, rising from the table.

"Find out what poisoned Spike, and maybe come up with an antidote," Willow suggested tentatively. "I'm going to try anyway, but I've never done that before."

"You can," Oz said confidently. "If anyone can."

Their eyes met, and even Xander could tell that something had changed. He was fairly sure he didn't know what it was—nor did he want to know. " Willow 's the one to do it," he agreed.

Xander felt like a third wheel as he watched Willow and Oz work in tandem to set up their impromptu science experiment. Willow scribbled a list down on a piece of paper. "The magic shop should have all of this. I want to see if it's a mystical poison."

Xander looked apologetic. "I'm a little short of cash right now."

"Just tell them it's for me," she replied.

He left the chem lab, immediately running into Anya. "I thought you were leaving town."

"I am," she replied. "The car's all packed and waiting."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you still doing here?"

"I came back for you!" Anya replied, sounding angry and impatient, although Xander wondered whether she was angrier with herself. "We can leave tonight."

"You want me to go with you?" Xander asked, no little disbelief in his tone. He'd thought prom an unmitigated disaster, and now Anya wanted him to leave town with her?

She glared at him. "If you stay, you'll die, and I don't want that. Whenever I think of you being dead it makes me want to vomit."

There was a piece of him that was rather touched by that, but it was a very small piece. "So I give you barfy feelings? That makes me want to go with you."

"Come with me," Anya insisted.

Xander shook his head. "I can't."

"Why?"

"I've got friends on the line." He held up Willow 's shopping list. "They're counting on me."

"You're just going to get in the way!" Anya accused. "They'd probably be better off without you here anyway."

"Way to touch a guy's heart," Xander said, brushing past her and heading down the hall.

Anya stared after him, furious at the both of them. At herself for feeling the way she did and at Xander for being so stupidly noble. "Fine! I hope you die!"

Xander just waved a hand, not even looking behind him. He knew without being told that every second counted. And no matter what Anya might think, he was integral.

He was certain of it.

~~~~~

Spike's eyes fluttered open as Buffy applied the damp cloth to his forehead. "Hey."

"Hey," she replied, giving him a watery smile. "How are you doing?"

"Apparently hanging in there." He shut his eyes tightly as another wave of pain crashed over him. "Any news yet?"

Buffy tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "No, but Willow 's working on doing some trace-thingy, and Wesley's calling the Council. We should have you back on your feet in no time."

Spike hissed and then shook his head. "Hope so. I'm still supposed to make sure you stop that apocalypse."

"You're going to be fine," she insisted, brushing back his sweat-soaked hair.

"Buffy?"

She turned to see Wesley standing in the doorway, looking unhappy. "What is it, Wes?"

"I think we need to talk."

The Slayer squeezed Spike's hand. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Be fine," he managed. "Go."

She followed Wesley out to the living room where Giles was sitting on the couch. "Okay, what's going on?"

Wesley swallowed, unwilling to meet her eyes. "The Council won't help."

"What?" Buffy asked. "Did you explain what was going on? That we need Spike?"

"I explained, but—they said he's a vampire, and it's not the Council's policy to save vampires." Wesley winced. "I'm very sorry, Buffy. I tried to tell them..."

Buffy believed him. Wesley didn't appear to be any happier with the situation than she was. "What did they say?"

He cleared his throat. "They said you should concentrate on the Mayor's Ascension and forget about Spike. I—I told them that you wouldn't, and—" Wesley paused. "They didn't take that very well."

"So they won't help us?"

"No, but I am at your disposal." Wesley gave a bitter little chuckle that Buffy didn't quite understand. "I could tell you what their orders were, but I didn't think you'd listen to them anyway."

"You're learning," Buffy said dryly. "Damn them!" she burst out. "How dare they when they know what kind of help Spike is to us?"

"There are rules," Wesley tried to explain. "They've been around for longer than—"

"I don't care if they've been around for longer than dirt," Buffy spat. "Fine. You know what? I don't need their rules. If you're not with me, you're against me, and they've picked their side. I'm done with the Council." She gave Wesley a hard look. "I hope you don't plan on standing in my way."

Wesley shook his head. "I meant what I said, Buffy."

Buffy took a deep breath. "Then call the Council and tell them where they can shove their orders. I will save Spike, and I will stop the Ascension, and I will do it without their help." She turned to Giles. "I can't stay here. Will you look after him?"

"I'll call you if there's any change," Giles replied. When Buffy had left, he turned to the younger Watcher. "What exactly happened?"

Wesley sighed. "Mr. Travers took exception to my argument in favor of helping Spike. When I told him that Buffy wouldn't follow the Council's orders, and expressed my reservations about attempting to force her to..."

"They fired you?" Giles guessed.

"Something like that." Wesley gave him a tight smile. "I've been relieved of my duties pending an investigation."

"Why?" Giles asked bluntly.

Wesley shrugged, knowing what Giles meant without asking. "I told you I'd been doing some reading on Spike, and I've watched him here. To simply let him die would be as great a crime as allowing a human to die." Wesley shook his head. "Besides, I was well aware that she wasn't going to listen to me. It's not like she ever has in the past."

Giles raised an eyebrow. "It seems you're learning."

The younger Watcher sat down on the couch. "Let's just hope that we all have time to put that to good use."

"Don't get too comfortable," Giles warned him. "I need you to go back to the library and look over the information from Professor Wirth's files again. Cross reference it with known demons and then see if you can identify what type of demon the Mayor is most likely to become. Once we know that—"

"We'll know how to kill him," Wesley said, sighing as he stood. It was probably better not to remain seated on Spike's rather comfortable couch. There was no way he'd manage to stay awake if he did.

"Wesley," Giles called after him as he went to the front door. "If it helps, I believe you made the right choice."

Wesley looked down at the tops of his shoes for a moment then back up at Giles. "Thank you. I believe that it does."

~~~~~

They had all been surprised by her decision. Buffy was the Slayer. She was supposed to be the good guy, and she was talking about killing a human being. In fact, once Willow told her that only Slayer's blood would save Spike, Buffy hadn't even hesitated.

Faith had killed at least two people, had shot down Spike, and there was no way the cops were going to be able to handle her even if they ever managed to catch her. She was Buffy's responsibility, and Buffy was going to end it. Tonight. She would drop Faith's dead body into Spike's lap.

Buffy would just have to deal with the nightmares later.

The gang had done their jobs. The address was the right one. "Thought I'd drop by," Buffy said when Faith answered the door.

"How's your boy?" Faith asked with a smile, backing away into the middle of the room.

Buffy shrugged, as though the very idea of Spike not being around anymore wasn't terrifying. "He'll be just fine once I deliver the cure."

Faith tilted her head. "Cure, huh? The Mayor said there wasn't one. So what is it?"

"Interestingly enough, it's your blood," Buffy responded.

Faith laughed. "You're not getting that."

Buffy didn't bother with a warning. The right hook connected solidly with Faith's jaw. "Oh, I think I will."

The dark Slayer's eyes glittered. "Welcome to the dark side, sister." Faith met Buffy's attack with relish.

They battled furiously. It wasn't often that Buffy faced someone who was just as quick, just as skilled, and who loved the fight as much as she did.

Well, not unless you counted her boyfriend.

Although they had both had the benefit of training with Spike, Buffy's sessions had been a little more regular, and over a longer period of time. For every blow Faith managed to get through her defenses, Buffy managed two. They danced around the room, exchanging punches and kicks in rapid succession.

Faith managed to knee Buffy in the side, catching her off guard, finishing it up with a backhanded punch to her head that sent Buffy flying through the large window. Buffy recovered quickly, but not quickly enough. Faith seized her advantage and started coming at Buffy with a dizzying attack that allowed Buffy no time to catch her bearings.

Buffy managed to get a breather by head-butting Faith in the face, causing the other girl to stumble back, and she pulled the dagger she'd grabbed from the book cage. Faith gave her a feral grin when she saw the weapon, pulling her own knife from the sheath strapped to her back. "Looks like you're not the only one packing tonight, B," Faith said. "I thought I might be seeing you."

Buffy didn't waste words. She launched herself at the other girl, both blades flashing silver in the moonlight. With a clever twist of the knife, Faith managed to disarm Buffy and pin her against the rail guard around the roof. "Been fun, B," Faith said. "Looks like you'll be joining your boyfriend tonight after all."

Spike had taught Buffy a move she didn't think Faith knew about. He'd told her the name of it, as well as the particular branch of martial arts it came from. She couldn't pronounce it if her life depended on it—but it didn't.

All Buffy had to do was to reproduce it.

"Guess again," she gasped, twisting her body, taking Faith's knife-hand with her, and burying the knife hilt-deep into the other girl's abdomen.

Buffy stepped back, standing with the knife in her hand, stunned, unable to believe what she had just done. There was blood on her hands now, too. "You did it," Faith said, then she pushed Buffy away from her, hard enough to send her back several feet. "You killed me. But it's not going to do you a hell of a lot of good."

Buffy could do nothing except to watch helplessly as Faith plunged off the roof onto the bed of a truck.

Spike's last chance was gone.

~~~~~

Willow wiped Spike's damp forehead with a cool cloth. They had called Giles to let him know what Buffy was planning, and he had asked them to relieve him at Spike's bedside. Willow had gotten the feeling that Giles wasn't terribly happy about Buffy going after Faith, but he also wasn't going to try to stand in her way.

She just couldn't believe that Wesley had stood up to the Council for Spike. It looked like he wasn't quite as much of a dork as they'd thought.

Not that he wasn't still a dork, of course.

"Red?" Spike was squinting at her as though he couldn't make her out very clearly.

She smiled at him. "That's me. Hanging in there?"

"Where—where's Buffy?"

"Oh, you know Buffy. She can't sit still. She went to get your cure," Willow said brightly. She sucked at lying, but she was hoping that Spike's weakened condition would mask her over-bright voice.

He hissed in pain, arching off the bed. "You'll—you'll tell her something for me?"

"I'm not telling her anything!" Willow said. "You're going to tell her yourself because you're going to be fine." She pointed to her face. "You see my resolve face, mister? No one can resist the resolve face."

Spike chucked weakly. " Gonna miss you, Red," he mumbled. "You and your boy. Good people. Look after Buffy for me, will you?"

"Now that's just crazy talk," Buffy said from the doorway. "You're going to take care of me. You promised, remember?"

Willow turned in her chair, and her face fell when she saw Buffy give a quick shake of her head. "Hey, Buffy. How's it going?"

"You're hurt," Spike said. "I can smell the blood."

"It's not mine," she replied. "I'm fine, Spike. Willow ? I think I can take it from here. Could you tell Giles that if he needs me I'll be here?"

"Sure thing, Buffy," Willow replied, giving Buffy's shoulder a squeeze on her way out the door. She wanted to ask what happened with Faith, but now wasn't the time. Not with Spike dying right before their eyes. Instead, she grabbed her boyfriend and left, feeling horribly guilty for the relief she felt that it wasn't Oz in that bed.

Buffy sat down on the edge of Spike's bed and stroked his face. "Hey there."

"Hey." Spike's voice hitched in pain. "Sorry, luv . Never meant for it to end like this."

" Willow and Oz found a cure, Spike," Buffy said. "You're going to be fine."

Spike frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Slayer's blood. It's good for what ails you."

Spike shook his head. "Buffy, no."

"It was supposed to be Faith, but I couldn't—I didn't manage to bring her back." She smiled at him. "So it's got to be me."

"Won't hurt you," Spike whispered hoarsely. "You don't know what you're asking, pet. I can't—not to save my own sorry hide."

"There's nothing sorry about your hide," Buffy replied, a lump in her throat. "Do you know what it would do to me to lose you? I can't, not like this. Not when I could prevent it. All you have to do is drink. You'll know when to stop."

Spike shook his head, his fevered mind playing through what would happen if he let Buffy have her way. He'd been here before; he had done this before. Angelus had offered him the option—to save his own life or to kill someone else, and he'd chosen selfishly every single time.

Not that there had been much of a choice. Every bleeding boy or girl would have ended up dead, and at least they'd gone quickly by his hand. Angelus always had liked playing with his food.

But if Spike took Buffy's offer he would—

"You won't," Buffy said. "You won't, Spike. I trust you to stop."

Spike shook his head again, but his resistance was fading. He didn't want to leave his girl. Not now, not as they were just beginning.

"Please," she whispered. "Spike, please. You can't leave me. If I can save you—I have to do it. Please, you have to let me."

When had he ever been able to say no to his girl?

Buffy saw the resignation in his eyes before he gave verbal assent, and she helped him to sit, cradling his limp form and holding his head to her neck. "Don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," she promised. "It's okay, sweetie. I want this."

Buffy could feel his lips against her neck, kissing her gently. She tilted her head to make sure Spike had clear access, and she could feel the bones in his face shift against her skin and the sharp prick of his teeth.

When he bit down, it was a rush. The endorphins hit her system, making her feel weak and invincible all at the same time. At the same time, a bolt of heat went right to her core. She never wanted it to end, and Buffy suddenly understood why most victims of vampire attacks didn't struggle.

Why would she want to end this?

Spike had never really stopped feeding from humans completely. Not only had he been known to catch a bite while he was on the job, but he had regularly supplemented his diet with just-expired blood from the hospital. Still, Slayer's blood was a rush to his weakened system that threatened to go straight to his head.

The last few hours had been one wave of pain and weakness after another, each one leaving him panting, wondering when it was going to end. The influx of Buffy's blood was a high that made it almost impossible for him to stop when he reached the point he knew he should.

There was a part of him that wanted to keep drinking, that wanted to suck the life right out of her.

It was that desire that gave him the strength to stop when he felt her start to struggle just a bit. Spike withdrew as gently as he could, trying not to do any more damage than he had already. He kissed her wounds, waiting until they had stopped bleeding before he laid her back on the bed.

"Did you get enough?" Buffy asked.

Spike nodded. "Think so. Gotta find something to cover that up, luv ." He levered himself out of the bed, dismayed at how weak he still felt. His limbs were trembling, and Spike wondered how long it was going to take the poison to work out of his system. There hadn't been a choice, however. Had he taken more blood, Buffy would have needed a trip to the hospital for a transfusion. This way, they both had at least a chance of being at full strength tomorrow.

He found the medical supplies he'd stocked up on when he realized that even a vampire might need patching up in Sunnydale. That, and he was anticipating a night when Buffy might have to come back to his place for assistance.

Spike came back, sitting down on the edge of the bed to clean the bite and tape a gauze pad over the top of it. His hands were still shaking, partly because of the poison, but also because Spike had never wanted this.

Well, perhaps he'd had a few dreams, but he had never wanted to see Buffy in his bed, looking so pale. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," she replied. "But not that bad. I've definitely been worse." Buffy saw his trembling and grabbed his wrist. "You didn't take enough."

"Yeah, I did," he retorted. "The pain is gone. If I'd taken more, you'd be in the hospital."

Buffy glared at him. "You're still shaky."

"More out of the thought of losing you than anything else," Spike assured her, dropping the rest of the first aid supplies on the floor and crawling into the bed next to her.

Buffy grabbed one of his hands and draped his arm across her middle. "You're not going to lose me. You stopped."

"Might not have."

"You did. I wasn't going to lose you."

"So you said."

Buffy scooted back to get as close to him as possible. "We're going to be okay."

"Sure we are," he responded, although he wasn't terribly sure of that. "Anybody going to be looking for you?"

"No," Buffy said, sighing as she shifted a little to get comfortable. With Spike's arm a comforting weight over her, and his back a solid presence behind her, she felt sleep descend. "Don't go anywhere."

"Right here, luv ," Spike murmured, pressing his lips to her hair. He didn't last much longer, the events of the day pulling him down as well. "Not going anywhere."

Chapter 40

"...Happiness to me is wine ,/ Effervescent, superfine./Full of tang and fiery pleasure,/Far too hot to leave me leisure/For a single thought beyond it./Drunk! Forgetful! This the bond: it/Means to give one's soul to gain/Life's quintessence. Even pain/Pricks to the livelier living, then/Wakes the nerves to laugh again,/Rapture's self is three parts sorrow./Although we must die to-morrow,/Losing every thought but this;/Torn, triumphant, drowned in bliss./Happiness: We rarely feel it./I would buy it, beg it, steal it,/Pay in coins of dripping blood/For this one transcendent good." ~Amy Lowell, "Happiness"

Spike was awake a couple of hours later, slipping out of bed as quietly as possible to avoid waking Buffy. He needed more blood of the human variety in order to be in any condition to fight, and the Slayer was going to need something to eat when she woke up. Even though Spike was a little fuzzy on the details, he knew that much.

This wasn't the first time he'd had to administer first aid to a bite victim.

He was certainly feeling better, though. The pain was gone, as well as most of the trembling. It would be a few days before he was completely recovered, but he'd be capable of holding his own when they faced down the Mayor.

The first stop was the hospital to nick some blood. It wasn't the first time Spike had stolen fresh blood rather than finding someone who would set aside the older stuff for him. He moved quickly and quietly, careful to be sure that he didn't stay in one place for too long. The advantage of going at this time of the morning was that the night shift was starting to leave and the day shift was just coming on.

Spike waited until the nurse's attention was on the novel she was reading before he slipped into the fridge where they kept the blood. He pocketed three bags and slipped out again, just as noiselessly, walking briskly towards the front door.

"You!"

The vampire kept walking, thinking that perhaps someone had seen him taking the blood. If he could make it to his car, he could make a quick getaway.

"Stop!"

Spike risked a look over his shoulder to see the Mayor, who looked absolutely livid. He kept walking, not wanting to risk a confrontation. As he reached the exit, the Mayor shouted after him. "She'll pay for this! She is going to die a slow death, and I'm going to make sure you're there to see it! You will suffer!"

Spike believed that he meant it.

~~~~~

Buffy heard Spike's voice above her head somewhere, sounding vaguely annoyed. "Look, we'll be there soon as we can...I know. Of course I know...Told you she'll be fine." He was quiet then, and Buffy opened her eyes slowly.

Spike stood by his window, facing the drawn curtains, his head down and shoulders hunched. She put a hand up to touch the bandage on her neck, realizing that while the wound stung slightly it didn't hurt much. Buffy knew that he'd been as careful as he could be under the circumstances.

She must have made enough noise for Spike to catch it with his sharp hearing. He turned to look at her. "Morning, luv."

"Good morning." Buffy glanced around. "What time is it?"

"Just past six," Spike replied. "It's early yet."

"Who was that on the phone?"

"Rupert." Spike wouldn't meet her eyes. "I had to tell him what happened."

"I wanted this, Spike," Buffy reiterated. "I haven't changed my mind."

Spike sighed. "I never wanted to hurt you, Buffy."

She sat up slowly. "Are you—is it going to cause a problem?"

"No. I haven't—it's not like I haven't had human blood recently," Spike replied. "I've got more control than most would have."

"I know you do."

"How are you?"

"I feel like I could sleep for a week," she admitted. "You?"

"The same." Spike gave her a rueful smile. "Probably be a few days before I'm in tip-top shape again."

Buffy stood, testing out her legs. They were steady enough. "Well, I'll be fine just as soon as I get some juice and cookies." At Spike's inquisitive look, she explained. "That's what they always give you after you donate blood."

"Don't have cookies, but I've got juice," Spike admitted. "Got some other stuff too. I'll make you a decent breakfast, and then we're supposed to meet the Watcher at the school."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "You got food? When did you do that?"

"Before the sun came up, while you were still sleeping," Spike replied. "Knew I'd have to fill you up with something before we faced the Mayor later on." He didn't tell her about going to the hospital, not wanting to explain why he was there. Maybe he would tell her later if it seemed important.

Buffy stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation for his half-hearted innuendo. "You're a pig, Spike."

He smiled, knowing that if Buffy was joking with him she was going to be okay. "Let's get you fed, then."

Buffy followed him out to the kitchen, noting that he still seemed a little shaky. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Spike shook his head. "Honestly? It's been a century since I've felt that helpless, and I didn't like it." His eyes flashed blue fire. "I never want to be in a position where I have to make a choice between your life and mine."

"That wasn't your choice," Buffy replied. "I didn't have to die, and neither did you. See? Everybody wins."

"Until Rupert stakes me," Spike mumbled.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Giles will not stake you, not when he sees that I'm fine. Everyone agreed that we needed you still, even Wesley."

"I don't want to do that again, Buffy," Spike said quietly. "I don't want—"

There was something in his tone that clued Buffy in to the fact that this wasn't just about last night. This was also about Spike's past rearing its ugly head again. "Faith won't be shooting any more poisoned arrows," she said. "So I don't think we have to worry about it."

Buffy frowned, remembering snippets of her dream. Faith had been there, but she couldn't remember much more than that.

Well, she remembered how they might be able to stop the Mayor.

"What happened between you two?"

Buffy described their fight in as few words as possible. As far as she knew, Faith was dead or dying. She was certainly out of commission for the Ascension. Spike seemed to feel the same way. "You'd have had to deal with her one way or another," he said philosophically. "Might as have been last night as today. We got a plan for the battle?"

Buffy nodded slowly. "I think so. I want to wait until everyone is together, though." She started scarfing her breakfast. "I don't think we have time for me to explain what I want to do twice."

~~~~~

When Giles saw the pair walk into the library, he was slightly mollified by Buffy's apparent good health and the deep circles under Spike's eyes. Perhaps the vampire had taken enough to survive, but no more than that. He did notice that Spike wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Where are the others, Giles?" Buffy asked.

"I called them," he replied. "They should be on their way shortly. I sent Xander and Wesley home to get some rest."

Buffy nodded. "Good. That's good."

"Can I talk to you, Spike?"

The Slayer sensed danger. "Giles, I don't—"

"It's okay, pet," Spike said softly. "He's got the right." He followed the Watcher back to his office, not taking a seat until Giles offered it to him.

Giles regarded him steadily, finally asking, "Will you be alright?"

"I've fought under worse conditions," Spike replied. "I'll be fine. I'm not the important one."

"Buffy would probably disagree with you," Giles admitted. He wanted to be furious, but he couldn't, not when Spike looked so unhappy with the situation. Not when the vampire was so obviously ashamed of himself. "I imagine that's probably why you're sitting there."

Spike glanced up. "I never would have done it, Rupert, given the choice. I just—"

"Yes, well, we both know how stubborn Buffy can be," Giles finally said. "Why don't we leave it at that?"

Spike gave him a relieved nod. "Ta."

"Buffy's attack on Faith made it on the radio this morning," Giles said. "Apparently they brought a girl into the hospital late last night who matches her description."

Spike frowned. "That right? She going to recover?"

"She's in a coma at the moment. They're still listing her condition as critical." Giles pulled off his glassed, reaching for his handkerchief. "What are you thinking?"

Spike didn't reply right away. " Dunno . Just seems like we might be able to use that somehow." He was thinking about the Mayor's rage. The man had been angrier than he would have thought reasonable for someone who had just lost his paid assassin. Now, if he'd lost his daughter...

Giles polished his lenses slowly, the habitual motion helping him think. "We'll have to see what Buffy has to say," he decided. "Perhaps there's something there that we can use for leverage."

"We'll need something." Spike's face was lined and grim. "We'll need everything we can get."

~~~~~

"I know it's crazy," Buffy said. "But what do you guys think?"

Willow grimaced. "Well, crazy is such a strong word."

"Let's not rule it out," Giles cautioned.

"You don't think it can be done?" the Slayer asked.

"I didn't say that," he hedged.

"Personally, I think it would be impossible to come up with a crazier plan," Cordelia said.

Oz lifted an eyebrow. "We attack the Mayor with hummus."

Cordelia looked down. "I stand corrected."

"It's insanity." Spike's voice cut across the others'. He'd kept mostly to the shadows, and there wasn't a person in the room who hadn't noticed that Spike was looking more like a corpse than he normally did. "You're talking about taking a bunch of school kids and turning them into soldiers in a few hours' time."

Buffy noticeably deflated. "Spike—"

"That's why it's brilliant." He tilted his head, giving her a wry smile. "The Mayor won't be expecting it, and what he can't anticipate, he can't plan for."

Giles nodded slowly in agreement. "That's true."

Buffy took a deep breath. "So is everyone with me?" As she got nods from everyone, Buffy looked over at Xander. "I'm going to need that military expertise, Xander. Do you still remember any of that?"

"Uh, hello?" he asked, pointing at her. "Rocket launcher?"

"Right. I want you and Spike to work together. Between the two of you, come up with a plan for dealing with the troops." She glanced at the vampire. "You up for it?"

"Anything you need," he replied. "Although I might be a little challenged by the sunlight."

Wesley spoke for the first time. "It won't be a problem. From what we've determined, the sun will be completely blocked out."

Giles shook his head. "Buffy, this is all dependent on your ability to control the Mayor. That's rather a large order."

Buffy shook her head. "Faith told me to play on his human weakness."

"His human weakness?" Giles asked.

"When was that?" Willow asked. "Before you guys fought?"

"After," Buffy explained shortly. She shook her head. "That's all I know. I thought—"

"Faith."

All eyes turned to Spike. "What?" Buffy asked.

"Faith is his weakness," Spike said. "I went by the hospital this morning, and he was there."

Buffy frowned. "I thought you said you went to the store this morning."

"I did," Spike replied. "You're not the only one who needed breakfast."

Buffy decided to let that slide. "So the Mayor wasn't happy about Faith, huh?"

"Try enraged," Spike suggested.

Buffy nodded. "I can use that."

"What about the rest of us?" Wesley asked. He'd been quiet and uncharacteristically subdued.

The Slayer nodded. "Oh, I've got jobs for everyone."

~~~~~

Mayor Wilkins had made an honest effort to put Faith out of his mind, but it wasn't working. Even though he was walking his troops through the plans for later in the day, Faith's broken body still occupied a significant corner of his mind.

He had wanted to protect her.

The Mayor hadn't loved many people in his life. You didn't get very far by having warm and fuzzy feelings for people in general. It made it too hard to do what needed to be done when, say, a ritual called for human sacrifice.

Faith, on the other hand, had been special. Bright, and vibrant, and so full of life. Under his tender care, she would have blossomed. He would have made certain of it.

Now, however, all he had left was the fragile hope that she would mend, and the sweet smell of revenge.

"You'll come up through the sewers," he said, pointing at the city plans. "I want containment. No one gets away. It's crucial that I feed in the first few minutes to sustain the change." He shook his finger at them. "No feeding. If I see blood on your lips, there's going to be hell to pay."

There was a pause as Mayor Wilkins waited for all of them to nod. "Oh, and one other thing." He made sure he had their attention. "The Slayer—I want her alive. That vampire, too. I want them both alive. The person who brings them to me will be rewarded." His eyes glittered. "Highly rewarded."

~~~~~

What you could do with information from a couple books and supplies from the hardware store was amazing and not a little scary. In a couple of hours, Willow knew that she and Oz would manage to build a bomb big enough to blow up the school, and hopefully the big snake the Mayor was planning on turning into.

It was probably a really good thing she didn't have any plans for world domination.

"Do you think Buffy's going to be okay?" Willow asked as Oz scribbled down their shopping list.

He glanced up at her. "What?"

"Spike bit her, and she just seems—I don't know." Willow made a face. "Spike just seems a little off today."

Oz paused in his writing long enough to consider it. "I get it," he said after a moment.

Willow waited for him to explain, and when he didn't right away, she asked, "You get what?"

"You try to keep the demon inside locked down." Oz was suddenly completely serious, which surprised Willow . He had been cracking jokes for the last two days. It was his way of panicking, and suddenly he was serious. She knew that it wasn't just Spike he was referring to, that Oz was talking about himself as well. "It gets out, though, and the people you never wanted to see that part of you suddenly get front row seats."

Willow frowned. "But we know, Oz. We know that Spike's a vampire."

Oz shook his head. "It's different." When it looked like Willow was going to protest again, he laid his hand over hers. "Trust me. It is."

"Of course I trust you." Willow looked down at the shopping list. "We'd better get to that."

"I'll take care of it," he replied. "You start rounding people up."

Willow smiled at him. "Sure thing. I'll see you later?"

"Count on it."

~~~~~

"Heard what you did."

Wesley nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd been a little too uncomfortable to pack books with Cordelia after their disastrous kiss and had moved to a different section. He had, in fact, been wallowing in self-pity, which was why he didn't hear Spike coming.

Spike chuckled. He still enjoyed winding the Watcher up. "Alright there, Wesley?"

"I'm fine," Wesley squeaked, then cleared his throat. "What were you saying?"

Spike raised an eyebrow. "I heard you went to bat for me with the Council."

Wesley shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "I didn't do that much. I simply let them know that it wasn't a good idea to disagree with the Slayer when she had her mind set on something."

"That's still something," Spike responded. "I won't forget it."

Wesley blinked. Spike's statement sounded more like a threat than a promise. "Um, okay?"

Spike chuckled again and clapped the Watcher on the arm. "Told you I'd keep you alive long enough to get that stick out of your arse , didn't I? Figure we're about halfway there."

"I, uh, believe I'm going back to England after this," Wesley replied. "Although I do appreciate the offer."

Spike snorted, then gave Wesley a rather cynical look. "You let me know how that works out for you."

The vampire walked away, and Wesley couldn't help but think that he knew the truth. The truth was that if the Council fired him as they'd threatened to do, he'd have enough in his savings to fly back to England , but no more than that. There was no one there who would offer him a place to stay; his parents certainly wouldn't, and he hadn't kept in touch with school friends.

Wesley told people he was going back to England because he wasn't sure what other lie to tell, and he was still hopeful that this would all work out. Perhaps if Buffy managed to stop the Ascension, the Council would see that the Slayer hadn't made a mistake, and neither had he.

He never claimed that it wasn't a foolish hope.

~~~~~

Buffy stared down at the knife. It was a beautiful weapon, in a really scary way. The craftsmanship spoke of a person who probably liked knives just a little too much, while the dried blood pointed to the fact that it had been used.

She had used it.

Buffy wondered if she and Spike were going to be okay. He hadn't been happy about her asking him to drink, but he hadn't been able to say no either. She didn't regret it for a moment. Buffy knew how badly she needed him, and not just for this battle.

"Here." A brown paper sack hit the desk. "You need to eat."

Buffy glanced up to see Spike. He dropped down into the chair next to the desk. "Spike, I don't have time."

"Yes, you do. You've got an hour, which is more than enough time." His expression was impossible to read. "You'll need your strength for what you're planning."

"What about you?" Buffy objected. "You've got a key role, mister."

Spike pointed to the bag. "Talk and eat," he ordered. "And that trip to the hospital should keep me for a while. Don't worry about me."

"I'll worry about you if I want," she retorted, taking a big bite out of the sandwich. She wasn't sure what was on it, but it was good. "Talk to me?"

Spike watched her eat, waiting to respond until he was sure she was going to manage to get at least half the sandwich down her. Someone had to look out for the girl; everyone else was too busy, and he was all-too-aware that she'd lost a bit of blood. "About what?"

"You know about what." Anger and fear warred within her, and fear won out. There was no way Buffy was leaving things like this before they faced the Mayor. If something happened to one of them—

Spike seemed to read her like a book, as usual. "We're okay, Buffy," he assured her. "Told you that earlier. I'm not going to do a runner on you."

"Then can you tell me why I'm getting that vibe? Because you're very vibe-y."

"Bad memories, is all," Spike said.

"From Angel?"

"Angelus," he corrected her. "And, yeah. I'm a selfish bastard, Buffy. This wasn't the first time I chose to save my own hide over saving someone else."

Buffy gave him an exasperated sigh. "How many times do I have to say it? There was no expense! I'm fine, you're fine—"

"I bit you," he said stubbornly. "You don't do that to the girl you love."

"In what universe?" she demanded. "If you hadn't bit me, I would have cut my wrist and made you drink that way."

Spike stared at her. "Buffy, you don't—"

"Don't you dare tell me I don't understand!" she hissed at him. "Let me guess. Angelus made you drink from somebody." The look on his face— a mixture of shame and surprise—told her that she was right on the mark.

Buffy could be perceptive when she wanted to be.

"So you had to drink in order to save your own life, and you feel bad," Buffy said. "Well, I went and nearly gutted Faith to save you, so don't think that I'm not willing to go all the way to make sure you're okay. I would have dragged her body back and made sure you drained every drop, so don't tell me I don't know about morally ambiguous choices."

"Big word, pet," Spike said, a smile beginning to tease the corners of his lips.

She smacked him on the arm. "Stop that."

"As you wish." When it looked like Buffy might punch him in the nose, Spike grabbed her hand. "Give me some time, Buffy. I've looked after myself for nearly a century. Having someone concerned for my welfare—it's going to take some getting used to."

Buffy mock-scowled at him. "Well, get used to it."

"Yes, General."

Their eyes met and locked, and then as one they turned to look at the clock. "I wish we had more time," Buffy whispered. She needed to be out there, making sure everything was a go. Spike needed to get into place.

There was no more time.

"I'll see you later," Spike said firmly, as though he didn't have a doubt that they would be just fine.

Buffy managed a smile for him. "Absolutely."

They wouldn't allow themselves to contemplate doing anything else.

Chapter 41

"When our two souls stand up erect and strong,/Face to face, silent, drawing nigh and nigher ,/Until the lengthening wings break into fire/At either curved point,—what bitter wrong/Can the earth do to us, that we should not long be here contented?/Think. In mounting higher ,/ The angels would press on us and aspire/To drop some golden orb of perfect song/Into our deep, dear silence. Let us stay/Rather on earth, Beloved,—where the unfit/ Contrarious moods of men recoil away/And isolate pure spirits, and permit/A place to stand and love in for a day ,/ With darkness and the death-hour rounding it." ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Sonnet 22"

It was chaos from the moment the sun was blocked out. Xander's prior experience on the front lines served him well, since he was able to rally the troops, calling out orders like a seasoned general.

Xander was the one who was in charge of most of the students, although he and Spike had worked out who the vampire was going to take to block off the vampires' retreat. The idea was to make sure that no one escaped so they didn't have to worry about doing clean-up all summer.

Of course, he and Xander had to have a heart to heart before they could get down to business.

"You bit her."

"Yeah, so what?" Just because Spike was feeling a little guilty about that fact didn't mean he was going to divulge that information to Harris. "It's between me and Buffy."

Their planning was about as last-minute as you could get, and Spike really wanted to get through it so they could get the troops into place. Xander wasn't going to let it go, however. "You could have killed her."

"Yes, I could have." Spike spoke precisely, his words clipped. "I could have killed her just about any time since I got to Sunnydale if that's what I wanted. But it's not what I want, so can we focus on the problem at hand?"

Xander opened his mouth to argue, and then decided that it wasn't worth it. "Fine. But if you hurt her, I will kill you." He paused. "Or I'll wait until you're sleeping and set you on fire. That would work too."

"That it would," Spike admitted, impressed with Xander's bravado in spite of himself. "Look, it's none of your business what Buffy and I do, but I'm not going to hurt her."

Xander grimaced. He could forget that Spike was a vampire most of the time, at least until he did something like biting Buffy. "Fine. Let's get down to it."

Spike had actually been fairly impressed by Xander's ability with strategy. Although he'd made a few suggestions, he mostly left it up to the boy once he figured that that Harris was competent. In the end, it hadn't been hard to decide which students would be in Spike's group. Since it was largely going to be hand-to-hand combat, Spike took the bigger, more athletic teens. Xander's group was going to be armed with flamethrowers and bows, long-distance weapons just as suited to the smaller and weaker as the larger and stronger.

As soon as the sun was hidden, Spike and Wesley hurried to join the students facing off with the Mayor's vampires. Spike was in his element. In spite of the lingering weakness from the poison, he held his own, keeping a sharp eye out for children who were in trouble.

Spike included Wesley in with the children.

Idly, he wondered who had taught the man to fight. There was some skill there, but Wesley was a complete klutz. Spike managed to keep him from being clotheslined by shoving him down, staking the vampire that had tried the move. Spike handed Wesley the stake and hauled him back up to his feet. "Watch it," he warned. "You get mowed down in this mess, and there's a good chance you won't get up again."

"Thanks," Wesley gulped.

Spike nodded. "Stick close."

Spike assumed that Wesley tried to do just that, but the next wave of vampires pulled them away from each other. He didn't see the man after that, and he just hoped that Wesley would manage to actually use some of those hand-to-hand skills he liked boasting about so much.

Mostly, he found himself lost in the sounds and smells of the battle. He could hear the cries of the wounded, and Spike knew that there would be more than a few dead at the end of this. He caught glimpses of the giant snake the Mayor had become, could hear Xander calling out orders to his troops above the clamor. Spike's job was to dust as many vampires as possible while keeping as many children alive as he could.

Spike always had been good at his job.

When the last stragglers were either dusted or fled, Spike took the steps to the school at a run, just in time to see the tail end of the Mayor disappear inside the doors. "Spike! Get back!" Xander warned him, running down the steps. "It's going up any second!"

Spike played rear guard, watching to be sure there weren't any remaining vampires waiting for a chance to slip away before he could put a stake into them. Spike was still facing the school when the explosion went off, and he put his arm up to shield his eyes. He looked around for Buffy, not seeing her.

"She's with Giles," Xander said, standing at his side. "They were meeting on the other side of the school, remember?"

Spike turned to look at the boy and the last of the battle madness dissipated, leaving him worn and weary. He supposed it was probably a lot like a human coming down from an adrenaline rush. "Yeah, right. How are you?"

"Good, I guess." Xander's eyes were shadowed as he surveyed the destruction. "Can't say I'm sorry to see the school blown up, but—"

Spike understood. People had died, people whom Xander had been in charge of. "Yeah. There aren't really any kinds of losses that are acceptable, are there?"

"No, there really aren't." Xander turned to watch the ambulances pull up. "I guess that's our cue that it's over."

They turned as one to find the others. Willow and Oz were standing off to the side, hanging on to each other for dear life. They were unscathed, as was Cordelia, who had a streak of soot across one cheek.

Buffy and Giles emerged from the crowd a moment later, and they all moved away from the confusion. Spike caught sight of Wesley being loaded into an ambulance, whimpering, and he sighed. It seemed that the Watcher had a very long way to go yet.

"Hey," Buffy said.

Spike put an arm around her shoulders. "Take it the whole thing worked."

"Like a charm," she replied. "Giles did a very good job with the button-pushing, too."

Giles managed to look properly modest. "It really was nothing." He glanced towards the ambulances. "I should check on Wesley," he said, trying unsuccessfully to hide his smile. "I think Spike's babysat him for long enough today."

"Ta, mate," Spike said with a smirk, then followed Buffy to join the others, who were gathered around a stone bench across the street from the campus.

Cordelia watched the flames lick the sky. "Well, that was the most fun you can have without having any fun."

"I don't know," Willow said. "I liked the part where we kicked some demon ass." She smiled up at Oz as he stroked her hair fondly. She had sprawled on the stone bench, feeling a little sore, although that wasn't necessarily from the fight.

Buffy leaned back against Spike's solid form. "Could you maybe wake me up when it's time to go to college?"

"Guys, take a minute," Oz said. "We survived."

"It was a hell of a battle," Buffy agreed, thinking of watching the giant snake eat a student—and Snyder.

Although watching the Mayor eat Snyder had been kind of fun.

"No, high school," Oz pointed out. "We're taking a moment." There was a long pause and then Willow got up, just as Spike and Buffy turned from the wreckage. "And we're done."

"Anybody want a ride somewhere?" Spike offered.

Cordelia shook her head. "No, that's okay. I'm not too far away."

"I'll walk you back," Xander offered, falling into step beside her.

Willow leaned against Oz. "We've got the van."

"We'll see you two later," Oz offered. "Dingoes are playing at the Bronze in a few days."

"I think I'll be ready to celebrate then," Buffy agreed, watching them leave. "Spike, is it just me or—"

"It's not just you," he replied. Spike knew exactly what she was asking. "You tend to seize the moment in the face of imminent disaster."

Buffy didn't loosen her grip. "Yeah, that's true."

They walked back to Spike's car, their hands linked. "You'll want to call your mom," Spike said.

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, I should. She'll kill me if I make her worry for any longer than necessary."

Spike reached into his jacket pocket and handed her his cell phone, listening idly as she assured her mom that everyone was fine. "When do you think you'll be home?"

The vampire's acute hearing picked up Joyce's response easily. "Oh, I think I'll head back tonight, sweetheart. What do you want for dinner? I'll pick something up, and you can ask Spike over too."

Buffy did not sigh or roll her eyes, although she wanted to do both. "Anything is good, Mom. I'll see you when you get in." She said her goodbyes and then handed Spike his phone. "You okay with that?"

Spike shrugged. "It's all the same to me. You want me to drop you off at home? I can come over later when I've cleaned up a bit."

Buffy nodded. "That's fine. I don't think I would have been capable of anything tonight."

"I'll pick up a movie or something," Spike offered. "Something light."

She gave him a grateful smile. "That would be perfect."

~~~~~

Buffy revived a little under the spray of the shower. She decided that Spike could deal with her being a slob and put on her favorite pajamas. Joyce's arrival—complete with Italian take-out—revived her even more. In some ways, it reminded Buffy of the days when she was little and would come home from school full of news at the end of the day.

That was before the divorce, when Joyce wasn't working all the time. Before she became the Slayer. Of course, these days, she could tell her mom what had happened at school again since she knew all about the Slayer business.

Buffy would have liked to gloss over the whole biting business, but there really wasn't any way to hide the wound on her neck without making Joyce even more suspicious.

"Spike bit you?"

"I pretty much forced him, Mom," Buffy said quickly, not wanting Spike to face Joyce's wrath when he came over. "It was either that or Spike dying, and I couldn't let that happen."

Joyce sighed. "Well, I suppose I just have to be grateful that you're both okay. This isn't going to be a regular thing, though, is it?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, Mom. It was definitely due to extenuating circumstances."

A knock came at the back door, and Buffy got up to let Spike in. "Saw the lights around back," he explained as he entered. "Hullo, Joyce."

"Sit down, Spike. Are you hungry?" she asked. "Or would you like something to drink?"

He shook his head, sitting down wearily at the table. "Don't want to put you to any trouble."

"It's no trouble," she assured him. Joyce looked at the bag. "What did you get?"

"Classics," Spike explained, pulling out a few videos.

Joyce smiled as she read the titles. " Arsenic and Lace, The African Queen, and That Touch of Mink ? I didn't realize that you were such a fan of old movies, Spike."

He shrugged. "Knew you and Buffy liked them, and I don't mind. I saw them when they originally came out and enjoyed them then."

Buffy did enjoy the old movies, but her mom was the real fan, and she had the feeling that Spike knew that. Of course, it was probably a good idea on his part to butter Joyce up a bit, especially since Buffy planned on spending every moment she could with him this summer.

That would be a lot easier with her mom completely on board with the situation.

Joyce set Spike's hot chocolate down in front of him and then plopped the bag of miniature marshmallows beside it. "Help yourself ," she encouraged. "And then I want to hear your side of the story. Buffy has been telling me about luring the Mayor in through the school, but she said you were somewhere else?"

"Keeping the vampires off her back," Spike admitted, glancing over at Buffy to see if she was okay with him continuing the story. She nodded. "Isn't much to tell, really. I dusted a bunch of them, tried to make sure no one got snacked on." His eyes were haunted. "Don't think I kept all of them safe."

Buffy laid a hand on his arm. "We did better than we would have without you."

"Right," Spike said, his voice sounding hoarse. "Guess you did." He frowned. "I'm not sure why the Powers That Screw With You thought you needed me though. You lot would have done fine on your own."

"Maybe that's not why they thought Buffy needed you," Joyce said gently. She smiled as Spike raised startled blue eyes. His hair was curly and still damp from the shower. The blue t-shirt he wore brought out his eyes and pale skin.

Spike had changed since coming to Sunnydale. Maybe it took a mother to see it, but Joyce noticed. His eyes weren't quite so crowded with memories these days. He smiled more. He made Buffy happier than she'd been since she had been called.

There were things Joyce was willing to overlook for that reason alone. "You know," she said. "I think I'll call Rupert to see if he isn't too tired to join us. Would you mind, Buffy?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, you should do that, Mom." She waited until Joyce had left the kitchen before asking, "How are you really?"

"I'm good, pet. Couple of days, I'll be just fine."

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Good. I might actually be up and awake by then."

"It's a date," he said softly.

Buffy breathed in the clean, sharp smell of him. "I'll hold you to that."

~~~~~

Giles was rather surprised when he managed to make it through the first movie and neither Buffy nor Spike did. As the credits for The African Queen rolled, he rose to his feet, holding out a hand to Joyce, leaving a sleeping Slayer and vampire leaning against each other on the couch.

He knew where her tea things were now, and he'd convinced her to switch to brewed, rather than bagged. Giles had taught her how to make a proper cuppa in this very kitchen.

In fact, Buffy would probably be rather mortified if she knew what else they'd done in this very kitchen.

"I guess we're not so old after all," Joyce said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Giles put his hands over hers. "No, I suppose we're not. They've both had a rather trying couple of days, however."

"So I gathered." Joyce sighed. "I'm glad you're all okay. This thing, though, with Spike biting Buffy. Is that—normal?"

"You're asking if it will happen again," Giles stated. "I don't know the answer to that for certain, but I don't believe that it will. Spike—isn't like other vampires, and he wasn't happy about what happened." He was quiet for a moment. "I dare say this next year will prove quite interesting."

Joyce never thought that she would be hoping for her daughter to work out a relationship with a vampire, but in this case she was. She thought Spike might be exactly what Buffy needed. Besides, he still needed quite a bit of mothering, and Buffy so rarely indulged her anymore. "I imagine it probably will," she admitted, thinking of the changes that were bound to come.

Giles turned in her arms. "I know I can't stay here tonight, but perhaps you'd like to come back to my place?"

Joyce felt her face heat up in light of Giles' naked desire. He made her feel sixteen again; it was exhilarating.

"I thought you'd be too tired."

"For you?" Giles asked with a lifted eyebrow, just a little bit of Ripper showing through. "I'm never too tired."

"Then let's go," Joyce replied, suddenly longing to touch him. Giles seemed the only thing that wasn't changing.

It had been a long time since she'd had someone to cling to. Joyce didn't plan on letting him go anytime soon.

~~~~~

Her parents had apologized for missing graduation, of course, and then they'd offered to get her a new laptop for school in the fall. It was probably just as well. Willow wasn't sure how she would have explained the flamethrowers, let alone the giant snake.

There was something to be said for parental indifference.

The best part was that Oz could stay the night without worrying about someone walking in on them. Not that she was quite up to having sex again. She was still just a little sore, and really, really tired. She could completely understand Buffy's desire to sleep for weeks on end.

It was just easier to sleep next to Oz's warm body, their arms and legs tangled. Next to him, listening to his even breathing, Willow could believe that the whole world was open before them. That the future was bright.

College would be starting soon— Willow had been looking forward to that step for years now. It would be new and challenging, and oh, so exciting.

But, at the same time, it was a little scary. For the first time since kindergarten, Willow would be going somewhere without Xander. Even if Buffy and Oz would be there, it wouldn't be the same.

Blowing up the school was just a reminder of that fact. Nothing would ever be the same again.

Willow shivered involuntarily, and she felt Oz's arm tighten around her. "Will? You okay?"

"Just thinking," she replied, burrowing further down under the covers. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

Oz stroked her back in a soothing motion. "That brain of yours never stops going, does it?"

"I don't think I came with an off-switch," she joked in return.

"You want to tell me about it?" he asked.

Willow hesitated and then shook her head. It didn't really matter anyway. After all, Oz was here and solid. He wasn't going anywhere. As long as she had one immutable thing in her life, that would be enough. "It's not a big deal." She laid her head back down on his chest and closed her eyes.

"Go to sleep," Oz said quietly, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "I'll be right here."

~~~~~

Wesley winced as he pulled his shirt on. He had apparently managed to both strain his back and crack a couple of ribs, although he was fairly sure that had happened when someone stepped on him.

Spike had warned him.

He had no idea where he was supposed to go from here. The doctors had given him some painkillers, but he couldn't stay in hospital. When Wesley had called the Council to give them the news of the Mayor's demise, they had informed him that he was fired, effective immediately. In fact, he'd made such a mess of things, they weren't even going to fund a trip home, nor were they giving him any more in the way of severance other than paying for his hospital bill. Provided he left immediately.

Wesley knew that his apartment was paid through the end of the month, and he had a little in the way of savings. It would be enough to—

To what? What did an ex-Watcher do if he didn't have an already-existing job, such as Giles had had? It wasn't like any of them were going to offer him a helping hand.

It wasn't as though he could ask.

"Mind if I come in?"

"I didn't think you'd need an invitation to a hospital room," Wesley commented, turning slowly to face the vampire. "What are you doing here?"

Spike was looking at him with some interest. "How's the back?"

"Sore, but I think I'll live. What are you doing here, Spike?"

The vampire might have been offended by the tone of Wesley's voice, but he already knew the man was a git. Pain and uncertainty tended to make a person even more of a problem to deal with. "I finally got caught up with Rupert today," Spike said. "I wanted to ask him a few questions. He told me you'd been fired."

Wesley managed to look as though he didn't care. "Yes, well, it'll give me a chance to explore some new options."

"Huh," Spike said, leaning against the doorjamb. "Too bad you're talking to a vampire, mate. We're not easy to lie to."

Wesley frowned. "What do you want, Spike?"

"You, actually."

Wesley blinked. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I'm starting up my business again," Spike said. "This saving the world thing is kind of fun, but as far as I can tell it only happens once or twice a year. My job here is done. Time to go back to work."

"You're leaving Sunnydale?" Wesley asked in surprise. "I thought you and Buffy—"

Spike waved a hand indolently. "We're good. No, I like it here. Usually I move around, you know, but people find me. I have a reputation. Once I let it be known that Sunnydale is my new headquarters, this is where they'll come." Spike grinned, a predatory glint in his eyes. "Of course, I'm not hurting for dosh , so I can afford to be choosy about the jobs I do take."

"I don't understan