“So how are Anya and Xander?” Buffy asked Spike when they left for patrol one night.

Spike shrugged. “Dunno. They’re on their honeymoon. Why would they be talking to me?”

Buffy gave him a look. “Please. As if I don’t hear you sneaking upstairs to call him ten times a day.”

“Well, there’s bloody awful service underground!” Spike protested. He sighed. “Alright, pet. You win. I might have spoken to him once or twice since the wedding. But only to check in on Anya! Make sure he’s treating her right!”

“You miss him!” Buffy accused gleefully.

“Do not!” He made a wild grab for her, and she took off through the graveyard, laughing, leaping over tombstones and weaving through trees, chanting, “You love him, you love him…”

Spike caught her with a flying tackle, sending them both to the grassy ground, Spike on top of her. “I love you,” he corrected, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

Unsatisfied with just that, she wriggled a bit to speed things…up…and deepened the kiss. Tongues warred, hands roved, legs shifted…

“Is this a private party, or can anyone join?” asked an amused voice from above them. Faith leaned against a nearby tree, her arms crossed and only the barest hint of jealousy in her expression.

Still, Buffy didn’t want to push her luck. Things had been calmer since the day of the wedding, but she was also careful not to rub in her relationship with Spike. It had been bad enough after that first embarrassing night after the wedding when she’d forgotten about vamp hearing (and Spike, she was fairly sure, had not) and Angel had interrupted their foreplay to tell her that he was going out, and no, he wouldn’t be back in the morning. Faith said that he’d been staying in the old mansion on Crawford since, but Buffy had only seen him once at Willy’s and he hadn’t seemed willing to talk just yet.

She knew that Faith had taken to hanging out at Willy’s with Angel during the nights she worked, much to Willy’s displeasure, but she didn’t know much more about their relationship. Were they friends? Were they more? Either way, it didn’t seem fair to Faith to be all giddy and flirty with her ex in front of her.

Reluctantly, she pushed Spike off of her and grinned at Faith. “You’re out patrolling early.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, Dawn’s in a snit because she’s grounded tonight. She got caught shoplifting by the mall cops.”

“She didn’t!” Spike said, horrified.

“I know,” Faith agreed, shaking her head. “I thought you taught her better than that.”

Buffy glanced from slayer to vampire and suddenly had the uneasy sensation that she was the crazy one. “Um…so she’s grounded because she got caught?”

Faith punched her on the arm, laughing. “Relax, B. I don’t encourage it or anything. But if she’s gonna be a borderline klepto, then she’d better as hell do it right. She’s not a slayer or a vampire. She doesn’t get that free pass.” At Buffy’s look, she rolled her eyes and in a mock-angelic tone, announced, “Not that I’d ever use it.”

And maybe Faith would have taken advantage of her slayer status at some point, but Buffy was certain that she wouldn’t now. Not this Faith. “So who’s keeping an eye on her now?”

“Willow.” Faith held out a hand to help Buffy up. “I would have asked Tara, but Dawn likes her way too much to be miserable around her. And we’re going for maximum misery here. Willow’s trying to hack into the nerds’ systems, anyway, so she’s camping out in the house these days.”

“With hacking or magic?” Buffy wondered.

“Little bit of both.” Faith set the pace, Spike and Buffy trailing after her, their hands brushing against each other with every step. “Don’t worry, she doesn’t want to kill you.” Every time Willow and Buffy had seen each other over the past week, things had been awkward without being forced. Sometimes Willow was hostile and snappish, other times she was nervous and shy as she tackled the dark magic that had consumed her. And Buffy may have been all for Willow getting over the darkness, but there was still the silent relief that the wards were still up against Willow. Who knew how volatile she would get?

“If she touches Buffy…” Spike said darkly, and Buffy squeezed his arm reassuringly.

“She was out of control, and she knows it,” Faith shrugged. “And as long as we can dangle Tara in front of her, she’ll keep on fighting herself.”

“Good.” He was silent then, and Buffy moved a little closer to him as he wrapped an arm around her waist and brushed his lips against her ear.

Faith stopped with a sigh of exasperation. “Really, where the hell are all the demons tonight? It’s not like-“ She stopped abruptly as she turned and saw the cozy scene behind her, an unreadable expression crossing her face. Buffy pulled away from Spike guiltily, but Faith waved a hand. “Don’t bother. I’m just…I’m going to go to Willy’s.”

“It’s your day off,” Spike pointed out, his eyes compassionate but in no way contrite. Buffy knew that he didn’t regret his relationships with either slayer, and he wouldn’t apologize to Faith for being with Buffy.

Faith nodded. “I’ll go see if Angel’s there. Hang out with him for a while.” She smoothed her top down. “You two okay on patrol?”

“Yeah.” Buffy bit her lip. “Are you sure?”

“I was gonna go anyway.” Faith turned toward the west exit to the cemetery. “Just wanted to tell you two that we’re going to have a get-together to welcome Xander and Anya home tomorrow afternoon. You two coming?”

“Before sunset?” Spike asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Trying to kill me?”

“And leave Xander all heartbroken?” Faith retorted, her usual smirk creeping back onto her face. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

--

But in the end, Buffy saw Faith before the party. Just before noon, Dawn came by with mail for Buffy and news. “Willow’s found out some pretty serious stuff about the nerds. They’ve got bank schematics and maps and stuff, and she thinks that she knows what their next move is gonna be. Faith wants to know if you can come meet her to kick Warren’s ass. I think she just figures that since she had to wake up so early because of this, everyone has to suffer… Buffy?”

But Buffy wasn’t listening, transfixed by the envelope in her hands. “What is it?” Dawn asked curiously. “It looks all official and government-y.”

“My GED results,” she murmured. “I didn’t think I’d get them so soon.” She turned the envelope over in her hands, as if the answers would be written on the outside.

“Go ahead,” Dawn urged. “Open it!”

She slit the envelope’s side with shaking hands, pulling out the official results sheet. Dawn peered over her shoulder at the numbers. “What does it mean?”

A smile broke out across Buffy’s face. “I’m going to college!” she announced, giving Dawn an impulsive hug.

“You passed!” Dawn squealed, and they jumped up and down together in excitement.

“What’s going on?” asked a sleepy voice from the stairs. Spike squinted down at them, perplexed.

The minute he’d reached the ground floor, Buffy jumped onto him, grinning. “I got my GED,” she explained as he staggered back with the force of her leap.

He kissed her soundly in response, and she laughed with pure joy at how perfect everything had become. Neither one of them noticed when Dawn tiptoed out the door, muttering good-naturedly about slayers and vampires and really, was it so hard for them to keep their hands off each other in front of her?

In fact, they didn’t notice anything until almost an hour later, when Spike’s cell phone rang incessantly until Buffy finally snatched it up. “What?”

Faith was on the other line. “We’ve got things to do, remember? Evil trio out to annoy us to death?”

Spike nibbled at the side of her neck with blunt human teeth, making her gasp as she responded. “I- uh!- I’ll be right- mmm- over!” She pushed Spike away half-heartedly, and he hummed in pleasure and wrapped her even closer into his embrace.

“You do that,” Faith said, again with that strange mix of amusement and annoyance that she always seemed to have around Spike and Buffy these days. Buffy knew that the other slayer had accepted their relationship, but she couldn’t fault her for being unhappy about it. “This is a sunshine-only battle, though, so Spike isn’t invited.”

Spike pouted, and Buffy couldn’t resist drawing his lower lip into her mouth. “Right,” she said quickly, hanging the phone up abruptly to give her another kiss with her man.

It was nearly twenty minutes before she made it to Faith’s house, where the other slayer was waiting impatiently. “What took you? We need to get moving, now!”

And they were off to take care of the last annoyance on Buffy’s list.

--

“It was hilarious,” Faith told Xander later that day as she devoured an entire bowl of chips on her own. “What’s-his-name was all set to escape after Warren’s jet pack getaway, and he takes off, and then smash! He hits the roof and gets knocked out. A lame last battle for a lame Big Bad.”

“I kind of felt bad for Jonathan,” Buffy interjected. “He was the one who told us how to beat Warren, and they didn’t even give him an escape route.”

“They thought he’d betray them, and he did,” Spike pointed out from the couch. “Doesn’t make him much better than the other two.”

“Mmm, Jonathan,” Anya sighed.

Xander frowned at her. “What?”

She blinked. “What?”

“Never mind.” He grinned around at everyone. “So, how was the week?”

“Buffy got her GED,” Willow told him, giving Buffy a brief smile.

“That’s great!” Xander beamed at Buffy. “So you’re going to be in UC Sunnydale next year?”

“Hope so,” Buffy confirmed.

“Oh! And Willow and Tara went on a date!” Dawn announced.

“No, we didn’t,” Willow said quickly.

“I-it wasn’t like that,” Tara agreed, flushing red.

Buffy looked at them curiously. This was the first she’d heard of a date, but she’d barely seen Tara all week, too wrapped up in her relationship with Spike to do much else. “What was it?”

Willow instinctively scowled at her, then caught herself almost immediately and turned it into a smile. It left Buffy vaguely unsettled. “Tara took me to meet a practicing Wiccan she met when she first came to Sunnydale. She’s this woman who’s been doing magic for decades, and she-“ She stopped.

“She gave us guidance,” Tara put in diplomatically, the two witches suddenly very aware of their friends’ eyes on them.

Faith flashed them both a genuine smile. “Good,” she said encouragingly, heading to the corner of the room where Angel was determinedly studying a painting on the wall in an attempt to avoid all socialization. “You okay?”

He nodded. “I don’t belong here,” he said finally.

Faith smirked knowingly. “Well, then, you’ll fit right in. Because none of us really belong.” She tugged him to the center of the room, forcing him down onto one couch and taking a seat beside him. “Hey, guys, we made it through almost an entire year without an apocalypse! It’s a new record!”

There were murmurs of agreement at that, and Xander raised his glass. “To years of more weddings than apocalypses!”

Faith squinted around. “Yeah, I don’t think any of us can legally get married, Xan. But nice toast!”

“You’re already thinking about marriage?” Spike muttered, so low that only the slayers and the other vampire could hear him. “Trust me, that wanker would never make an honest woman out of you. He’ll make the promises, but he’s a heartbreaker, he is.” He smirked at his sire’s sire. Buffy elbowed him in the ribs.

“We’re not together,” Faith muttered back. “So shut up.” Sure, she and Angel hung out a lot, and she definitely had lusty feelings toward him, but they’d never gotten further than that kiss at the wedding. And she wasn’t going to initiate anything, not when she wasn’t even sure if she was just a consolation prize.

“Oh, come on,” Spike scoffed, not bothering to keep his voice down anymore and attracting confused looks from the other Scoobies. “You can’t tell me that-“ He froze.

“Spike?” Buffy said nervously, glancing up at his suddenly rigid form.

Angel stood, too, his eyes dark and concerned. “Get out of here,” he said quietly. “Now!”

Faith followed his orders instinctively, shoving Dawn toward the kitchen and trying to do the same to Anya, but it was too late.

The door to the house flew open, and Warren stormed into the room, his eyes dark and wild and his hands readying a gun at them. “You think you can just do that to me?” he shouted. “You think I’d let you get away with it? Well, think again!”

He aimed his gun, first at Faith, then at Buffy, and fired twice.

Xander was behind Buffy and managed to knock her down before the bullet even left the gun, but Angel was far too busy running at Warren to stop Faith’s bullet. It smashed into her arm, and she let out a howl of pain and anger and tore toward him.

Angel hit him first, smashing the boy into the wall in front of the door before the sun hit him and he had to recoil. Warren took one look at Faith, on her way over to him, and Buffy, a step behind Faith, and ran, dropping the gun in his haste. Faith and Angel exchanged relieved glances

“Damn!” Faith grabbed her arm, the pain fully kicking in. “That stings!”

Angel and Spike both moved to check on it, bumped into each other, and glared. Spike turned his attention back to Buffy. “Alright, pet?”

But she was staring in horror at the other end of the room, where the rest of the Scoobies had been standing during Warren’s attack, where the second bullet had passed over Buffy and Xander’s heads and hit Tara in the back.

The girl lay prone on the ground, Willow bent over her. “Tara? Tara!” There was nothing. “Oh, god, TARA!”

And very faintly, Spike heard the white witch’s heart stop.