Previously: In Prologue to Life/I Know You, post Chosen Buffy has been grieving for Spike and her unhappiness is causing Dawn, Giles and Willow to worry about her. Willow does a spell that is intended to put Buffy back into the bouncy frame of mind she was in when she was sixteen and as carefree as is possible for a slayer to be. The PtB step in and return adult Buffy to the body of her youthful self in Season II. Soulless Spike appears, ready to kill his third slayer, only to find that this slayer knows him too well. Not only can he not best her in a fight, she calls to his libido in ways he can’t understand. There is sex, angst, misunderstandings, more sex, sad farewells, and an eventual happy ending in which souled Spike, now “dead” after the final battle in NFA, is given a choice of going to Heaven or returning to Buffy, now firmly established in her younger body. Needless to say, he chooses to go to his slayer.

In the sequel, titled I Know You, II, we followed the adventures of the displaced Spike and Buffy from the first story. Buffy, now wearing an older, stronger body, but still a seventeen-year-old slayer, has existed for almost a year in an alternate world in which there is no Sunnydale. She has managed to find a job, a place to live and to make her way in this very different world, but she misses her mother and friends and hopes that someday she will be pulled home. Spike’s reunion sex with Buffy, which was rudely interrupted when the PtB put “her” Spike into his body, ends abruptly and he finds himself dressed, slayer-less and in a graveyard. There is much less sex (lots of UST, though) in this story of how a soulless but somewhat changed vampire, and a young slayer whose life has been very different from what it would have been if she’d stayed in Sunnydale, work their way from cautious allies to partners to lovers.

Inspired by this art work by Sue World



The following story is set in their world and catches up with them a few years after the events of IKY, II. Spike has settled into the role of Buffy’s watcher and fellow fighter against evil. In their new world, demons and vampires walk among the humans and only those who seek to prey upon others are deemed slay-worthy. Their lives are eventful enough to keep them from being bored, and quiet enough for them to have grown in their relationship until they are so much a part of each other’s lives that to not be together is unthinkable.

A new villain has arisen in a nearby resort city, and they must call upon some of the things Spike has learned as a watcher to find and defeat him. Because they can, they spend a lot of their time at home having sex. We peek into one of their research sessions to begin our story...

Watching and Knowing


Prologue:

“Never thought I’d see the day when I missed having a Council of Wankers around.”

Spike’s grumbling elicited giggles from Buffy as she stood up from the table full of books and stretched her stiff back. Spike’s insistence that they make themselves familiar with all the demon varieties in this world was a constant source of bickering between the reluctant watcher and his slayer mate. However, even he had to admit that wading through the large amount of information publicly available about demons and vampires in their new world was a daunting task.

“Yeah, but if they were around, they’d want to make one of them my watcher. And I like the one I’ve got.” She came around behind him and leaned over to nuzzle his ear, sliding her arms around his chest and giving him a small hug. “I don’t think the Watchers’ Council has anybody quite as sexy as you are, or with all your…talents.”

“Too bloody right, they don’t!” he agreed with a purr. “And don’t you forget it, missy. You’re the only slayer to ever have a watcher like me.”

“Of course, I’m also the only slayer in this dimension, so who knows? Maybe, if they had a Watchers Council, it would be full of sexy young men.” Her giggle at his possessive growl brought a reluctant smile to his face.

“Got two words for you, love: Rupert Giles.”

“Ewww! Way to spoil that fantasy, Spike!” She went to straighten up from her position, only to find herself yanked around the chair and onto the grinning vampire’s lap.

“I catch you fantasizing about anything but my tight little body and I’ll--” He broke off, both of them fully aware that he would do nothing to hurt his mate, regardless of what she might do to him.

“You’ll what?” she whispered, watching his lips come closer to hers and closing her eyes in anticipation. “What would you do?”

Instead of the kiss she was expecting, she found herself dumped onto the floor as he stood up saying, “Turn you over my knee and make that delectable little arse rosy red.”

From her position on the floor, Buffy glared up at him.

“Promises, promises,” she huffed.

“That it is, love. That it is.” He smiled and offered her his hand, pulling her to her feet and into a tight embrace. He gave her the delayed kiss she’d been looking for and enjoyed the way her body responded to him so quickly. With a barely-audible whimper, she melted into him, trusting his strong arms to hold her up as her knees weakened. His immediately noticeable response to her turned her whimper into a satisfied sigh as he tightened his hold and whispered into her ear, “What do you say, love? Time to take a break from all this sittin’ and readin’?”

Her reply was to wrap one leg around his waist and pull herself against the bulge in his pants. He dropped his hands to her ass and hoisted her up so that both legs were around his hips and her warm crotch was pressed against him. After a few moments of panting and dry-humping, he let her slide down his body so that he could unfasten her jeans and his. Buffy moved backwards, pulling him towards the table full of books, but before she could jump up on it, he stopped her.

“Oi, slayer! Not on my books!” At the horrified look on his face, she shook her head and burst into laughter.

“Oh my god! You are turning into a real watcher! Just listen to yourself, Giles Jr.”

“Bite your tongue!”

“Why don’t you bite it?” she challenged, sliding her jeans down her legs.

With a growl, he picked her up and strode out of their improvised library and into the bedroom, throwing her down on the bed so hard that she bounced. Still giggling, Buffy quickly shed the rest of her clothes and waited for him to join her in the big, sturdy bed that had been their first purchase as a couple.

Dropping his pants to the floor and tearing his tee shirt off over his head, he leapt into the air and across the space separating them. He landed with admirable precision, one hand on either side of her head and with his legs just outside hers, holding himself up so as not to knock the wind out of her with his weight. He shifted into his game face and growled, “Now where is that tongue you wanted me to bite?”

“Right here,” Buffy giggled, sending her tongue darting out at him and then quickly snatching it back inside her tightly closed mouth. “Oops! You missed it!”

“Is that so,” he purred as he lowered his hips and began to rub his erection against her, teasing at her lips until her thighs parted for him and he could touch the moistened flesh hidden within. When Buffy opened her mouth in a silent “Oh!” he slipped his tongue in and kissed her, taking care not to cut her lips with his fangs.

In spite of the care he was taking and the way she was distracting him by arching her body against his, he felt her tongue glide across one of his sharp fangs and the heady taste of slayer blood soon filled his mouth. Making a sound somewhere between a whimper and a snarl, he collapsed upon her, allowing his cock to seek the opening that she was trying so hard to present. Buffy’s arms and legs came around his body as she pulled him in and began the gentle squeezing that she knew he loved.

The taste of her blood left him with no ability to resist her actions, and he was soon pounding into her and gasping her name as she met him thrust for thrust. Their mouths met and parted; Buffy’s need for air and Spike’s need to murmur his adoration and appreciation making it impossible for them to continue the deep kisses for any length of time.

When he felt Buffy begin to clench around him and tremble with her release, he allowed himself two small sips from her throat before he exploded within her, calling her name as he did so.

They shuddered together, connected both physically and mentally as their mutual claim sent emotions back and forth between them in a seemingly unending spiral of sensation. With a final gasp, he buried his face in her neck and allowed his full weight to press her into the mattress. Rather than try to move him, Buffy relaxed her limbs completely and enjoyed the sensation of being totally beneath him – skin to skin from head to toe.

Eventually, his weight and her desire to breathe became factors and she had to give him a little nudge, saying with true regret, “As much as I like feeling you against me like this, even slayers need to breathe every once in a while.”

“Sorry, love,” he said, immediately rolling off her, pulling her with him so that she was draped across his body with her head on his chest. “I didn’t mean to smother you.”

“You didn’t. I’d stay like that forever if we could figure out how to do it without squishing me.”

“Don’t you think you’d get hungry after a while?” he teased, stroking her back with one hand and holding her possessively close with the other.

“Probably,” she agreed, snuggling into his side. “That was kind of a quickie, wasn’t it?”

“Too fast for you?” All cockiness was gone as he worried that he’d disappointed her.

“Were you paying attention at all?”

“Yeah, I was paying attention, but if you think it was too fast--”

“Doofus,” she said fondly, kissing his chest and running her tongue across his nipple. “I didn’t say it was too fast. I just said it was a quickie. Isn’t that what a quickie is? When we both get off really fast?”

“I suppose so,” he agreed reluctantly. “’s not like I’ve had a lot of experience with quickies…”

“Bragger!”

He laughed and pulled her against him tightly. “Not bragging, love. Just sayin’, don’t know of anyone else could ever get me off that fast. You’re my one in a million.”

“You’ve had a million women?”

“What? No! It’s just an expression. Bloody hell, Slayer, are you trying to start an argument?”

“Maybe,” she admitted. “Anything’s better than going back to those boring old books.”

“It’s almost dark, love. Let’s get some dinner in us and go out for some hunting. That ought to brighten up your day – we’ll find something for you to kill.”

“Slay,” she said firmly. “I don’t kill, I slay.”

“Tomato, tomahto, love. They’re just as dead, aren’t they?”

“No. Sometimes they’re dusty.” She fixed him with what she hoped was an intimidating glare, somewhat spoiled by being on a face with kiss-swollen lips on a thoroughly limp, naked body.

Instead of apologizing or arguing, he just smiled and stroked her hair. “I love you, Buffy. Love you so much it scares me.”

Her face softened and she smiled shyly back at him. “I love you, too, William. But it doesn’t scare me; it makes me happy.”

“Makes me happy, too, sweetheart. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life – or unlife.”


Chapter One

It had been three years since Spike and Buffy had destroyed the Master and his minions. Three years in which their bond had deepened and Buffy had settled into the job as the one and only slayer in their darker world. With Dawn’s help, she was able to stay in touch with her mother and her friends back in Sunnydale, but she no longer missed them the way she had before Spike had been deposited in Winterset. Seeing them through the sides of the portal-bubble once every couple of months had turned out to be enough for all of them. Xander and Willow were continuing their lives in Sunnydale, finishing high school and moving into adulthood. Their lives had diverged from both Buffys’ – the Buffy now living in their world was living in grown-up domesticity with her souled Spike and no longer pretending to be any younger than she actually was.

“Their” Buffy, on the other hand, had been forced to grow up very quickly when she’d found herself alone in a strange world. High school, college, who was dating whom…these were all things that were completely foreign to her life in Winterset. She had settled into a comfortable life that surprised both herself and Spike – slaying what few vampires or demons were foolish enough to want to challenge a slayer and her master vampire mate, traveling around the country, or the world, as she was needed.

“Come on, lazy bones,” Buffy said, pulling on Spike’s toes where they stuck out of the side of the bed. “It’s almost three o’clock in the afternoon. We promised the mayor of Shadyside that we would be arriving tonight. The train leaves at five.”

With an exaggerated groan, Spike opened one blue eye and scanned the room, his gaze going immediately to the windows. He groaned again when he saw that it was a dark and dismal day outside.

“So much for hopin’ it was a sunny day,” he grumbled, sitting up and scratching his chest. “Don’t see why I have to go, anyway. The woman wants to see you – the Slayer – not some old vampire what follows you around like a puppy dog.”

Buffy’s laughter at his semi-serious complaining did nothing to improve his mood, and he growled as he stretched his stiff body.

“You know you’re not my puppy dog,” she soothed, reaching over to run her fingers through his disarrayed curls. “You’re my guard dog. All mean and scary and…”

“And thoroughly tamed,” he laughed, his mood improved by her soothing touch. “You’ve got me on a tight leash, and you know it.”

“I don’t want you on a leash,” she said, suddenly serious. “I want you with me because you love me and want to be beside me. Do you feel like I own you? Like I’m a boss?”

Once again cursing Buffy’s absent father and whatever other experiences had caused the insecurities still hidden under a beautiful young woman’s outward poise and confidence, he hastened to reassure her.

“Meant that in the nicest way possible, pet,” he crooned, pulling her onto his lap and nuzzling his marks on her neck. “Want to belong to you. Do, you know. Even without the claim, I’d be yours for as long as you wanted me. You didn’t put that leash on me – I did. And I’m grateful for it every day.”

“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” she offered, still not sure that she hadn’t detected an undercurrent of unhappiness in his voice. “You’re right about the mayor. She just wants to see me to talk about some gangs of young vamps that are terrorizing tourists. There’s probably nothing watchery to do. I’ll find out where they hang out, slay a bunch of them and the rest will run home to their mamas.”

“You want me to send you out to face a bunch of undead hooligans by yourself? What kind of a mate do you think I am?”

Full of righteous indignation, he rose to his feet and deposited her on the floor, an arm’s length away from his naked body. Without further comment, he grabbed his jeans off the nearby chair and began to pull them on, muttering about “insecure bints with no common sense” and ignoring her satisfied grin.

“I’ll be warming up your blood,” she threw over her shoulder as she left the bedroom.



~~~~~~~~~~~

Learning to get around safely had been a challenge at first, but with the shorter days and darker skies of the new world, Spike had soon adapted to the new conditions and found that many days, a good hat with a wide brim, his ubiquitous leather coat, and gloves would be enough cover to allow him to move around during the daylight hours.

Cities in this dimension were much smaller and more widely spread out than in their original world. Word had spread about the Slayer and the vampire who was her constant companion, and they occasionally received calls for help from other areas of the world. Clem, they discovered, had relatives on almost every continent, so no matter where they went, they were assured a place to stay and some demon hospitality.

The trip to the neighboring resort city was a fairly short one – nothing like the ones they occasionally had to take to reach trouble spots elsewhere in the world. They easily made the train and relaxed into their seats. There was little to see out the windows as darkness settled in and the train sped through the barren lands between the two cities.

Buffy dozed on Spike’s shoulder until she felt the rougher ride when the train crossed other lines as it pulled into the station. She stretched, drawing admiring glances from the few men scattered around the mostly empty car. One possessive flash of Spike’s fangs had them all becoming very interested in something else and, while they waited for the train to stop, they carefully avoided looking at both the pretty girl and the vampire accompanying her.

Buffy shook her head, giggling at Spike’s muttered threats that she knew were more for show than anything else. He actually enjoyed the attention his California girl drew from the male populations of this darker world, basking in the knowledge that she was all his and happy about it.

~~~~~~

An hour later they were sitting together on an overstuffed sofa in the comfortable living room belonging to Janice Stevenson, the mayor of Shadyside and the woman who had contacted Buffy. They accepted cups of tea and assuring Mayor Stevenson that they understood completely why she hadn’t wanted to meet them at her office.

“I just think it would be better if no one knew that you were here,” she said with an anxious glance around her otherwise empty living room. “Many of these boys…these vampires…have parents who are still part of their lives, and they would be very unhappy if they knew I had brought the Slayer to Shadyside.”

Buffy nodded her understanding, while Spike raised his eyebrows.

“They’re still with their families?” he asked in surprise. In spite of the differences between this world and the one they had come from, the idea that you could become a vampire and remain in the bosom of your family struck an ache he had thought long gone.

“Well…” She shrugged and struggled to explain. “I wouldn’t say that they are ‘with’ their families. They all live…well, we don’t exactly know where they live or the police would have done something about them by now. They don’t live at home. We do know that. But they stay in touch, show up for family parties and things like that.”

“I guess if you’re a parent, having your kid alive – even if he’s really dead – is better than knowing he’s gone forever.” Buffy sounded dubious, but smiled reassuringly at the other woman.

“Speaking as a mother…” the woman smiled back at her, “I have to say that if something happened to one of my children that was fatal, but didn’t take them completely out of my world, I’d be very grateful.”

“So what’s the plan, then?” Spike skipped right to the crux of the matter. “You want the Slayer to scare the piss out of them, but leave them in one piece?”

“Yeah.” Buffy frowned. “That’s a good point. What do you want me to do? If I fight them, somebody’s going to get dusty. Maybe that would scare the rest of them into behaving for a while, but…”

The mayor sighed and refilled her teacup. “I understand,” she said sadly. “I know that some of these boys are not going to survive an encounter with you. But if it scares the rest of them into minding their manners a bit better, it will be worth it. I just don’t want their parents to know that I brought you in.”

“Of course,” Buffy said quickly. “You don’t want to lose friends over it.”

“Or votes,” Spike drawled, raising one eyebrow at the flushed woman.

“Neither one,” she responded firmly. “Some of these people are my friends. I’ve watched these boys grow up – or grow up as much as they could before something killed them.” She met Spike’s eyes firmly. “And, yes, I would lose some votes if it became known that I was directly responsible for having any of them killed. The owners of the businesses that depend upon the tourist trade would be happy, but the boys’ parents and their friends would not.”

“Can’t the parents control them?” Buffy asked, a small frown furrowing her brow. “I’ve never had to slay anything that had parents before.”

“Everyone has parents, love,” Spike reminded her gently. “It’s just that in our world their vamped offspring tend to do them in before the families have time to mourn.”

Mayor Stevenson appeared shocked. “You mean in the world you came from, vampires kill their own families?”

“In most cases,” Spike said tightly. “I think our demons might be a little stronger than yours. You wouldn’t see any turned kids running to Mum for sympathy in our world.”

“Oh dear.” The mayor sipped her tea while she absorbed this information, then she glanced up at Buffy’s troubled face. “Then you won’t have any problem staking someone your age or younger?”

Buffy shook her head. “No. I can handle it. Back in Sunny- my hometown - it wasn’t uncommon for me to have to stake vamps that I’d gone to high school with. I even almost had to stake a child once, but An--my boyfr—a friend did it for me.”

She glared at Spike who hadn’t been at all fooled by her stammering, and who had muttered loud enough for the other woman to hear, “Bloody poof probably enjoyed it.”

Turning her attention back to the older woman, Buffy asked, “Is this normal? For you to have so many young vampires in your city? In Winterset it seems like the vamps are pretty careful who they turn. They don’t do a lot of random vamping.”

The mayor shrugged. “We’ve never had quite this many before. I’m not sure what happened. Maybe an older vamp turned one boy and he went after all his friends? I don’t know why we ended up with so many boys the same age all vamped at the same time, but it’s like an epidemic.” She glanced up at a sound from the hallway. “Oh, hello, honey. Come in and meet our guests,” she said to a lanky teenager wearing a high school jacket. “This is my youngest son, Jason,” she said, smiling fondly at the boy.

Buffy smiled at the embarrassed young man and waggled her fingers at him. “Hi, I’m Buffy,” she said. “And this is Spike. We’re just visiting here for a few days.”

He nodded and smiled pleasantly, but didn’t come any farther into the room. Spike abandoned his intent to shake hands, sinking back into the cushions and nodding instead.

“You must be pretty important visitors if my mom’s your first stop,” he said, laughing. “There are a lot more interesting places to go on your first night here than our house.”

Before either Spike or Buffy could explain what they were doing there, Mayor Stevenson spoke up.

“Buffy’s mother and I were friends in college,” she said, giving Buffy’s hand a warning squeeze. “She promised her mom she would come and see me as soon as she got here. We were just finishing up our chat when you came in.”

“Well, don’t let me interrupt,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll be in my room cramming for a math test tomorrow. Nice to meet you, Buffy, Spike,” he added as he turned to leave. “Let me know if you want to know where the hot spots are in town.”

“It was nice to meet you, too, Jason. I hope we see you again before we leave.”

Spike just nodded and raised his hand in farewell, frowning slightly as his eyes followed the boy from the room.

After receiving information about which clubs and restaurants the gangs of vamps seemed to be hanging around the most, and being told that Mayor Stevenson had made reservations for them at a seaside hotel, Spike and Buffy stood up to leave.

“Are you going to begin tonight?” she queried as she walked them to the front door.

Buffy shrugged. “Probably. We aren’t expecting to have to stay very long. If these are just kids who’ve gotten carried away with their new power, seeing a few of their friends go ‘poof’ ought to give them something to think about.”

Spike nodded, grinning at the woman’s shudder. “Nothin’ like meeting the pointy end of the Slayer’s stake to ruin a bloke’s night,” he agreed. “Makes stayin’ home and watchin’ TV with the folks look mighty appealing.”

Turning down Mayor Stevenson’s offer to call a cab for them, they assured her that they would prefer to walk the easy couple of miles to their hotel.

“It’ll give us a chance to get the feel of the city, and to maybe meet one of the gangs. Who knows? We might get lucky and get mistaken for lost tourists right away.”

They waved their good-byes and walked off in the direction they’d been pointed, watched intently by their hostess. When they were out of sight, she closed the door and leaned against it briefly, then raised her head, straightened her shoulders and went to the back of the house.

She knocked twice; then pushed her son’s door open, smiling when he glanced up at her.

“How’s the cramming going?”

“Could be better. I’m thinking maybe I should have paid more attention last week…”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she said, frowning at his unusual lack of confidence. “You’re a very bright boy.”

“I’m a jock, mom. When are you going to admit that?” He gave her a sheepish smile. “I do my best, but I’m never going to be a brain, like…”

“Don’t.”

He sighed and nodded. “Sorry.” He waited for a few minutes then asked, “Did you want something, Mom?”

“I…no, not really. I just wanted to…to be sure you were here. That’s all.” She gave him a sad smile and turned to go. “Just do your best tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” She paused with her hand on the door. “Jason?”

“Yeah?” He glanced back up at her.

“Stay in tonight. Okay?”

“Was planning to.” He went back to his notebook, missing the relieved slump to her back as she closed the door behind her.