AN - I want to thank everyone who has been reviewing right along,including the new readers I seem to have picked up lately. Here are the last three chapters because I'm just too lazy to put them up one at a time. I hope you enjoy!



Chapter Twenty-Two


The ride to her house was quiet, the vampire worried that he might have done something to irreparably damage their relationship, the Slayer trying to absorb the idea that she could be “mated” for life to this man she really hadn’t known very long. Only the fact that sitting beside him, touching him, feeling his spendings on her inner thighs felt so very right and special kept her from wigging out.


The Watcher’s car was still in the driveway when they arrived and Buffy pushed open the front door to find her mother holding a finger to her lips for silence and Giles yelling at someone on the phone, “I don’t care what kind of a meeting you say the bloody bastard is in, you tell him Rupert Giles wants to speak to him right now! “

When he turned around to see who had entered, Buffy and Spike could see that he had the beginnings of a black eye, as well as blood on his lip, to which he was holding a piece of ice.

While Buffy stared at her mother in wonder, Spike gave the embarrassed woman a grin and a thumbs-up behind the Slayer’s back. They stood awkwardly in the hallway until with a murmured explanation to Spike, Buffy hastily went up the stairs to her room to find some underwear and clean off her legs. If her mother wondered why Buffy didn’t just use the downstairs bathroom, she didn’t say so, just gesturing for the vampire to come in and sit down.

Apparently the person to whom the Watcher wished to speak had been found as he was now using large amounts of British-flavored profanity to berate the unseen person.

“I don’t care how ‘undisciplined’ you think she is, you bloody pillock. She has already outlived most Slayers and was able to take care of your intended assassin as well. If you ever,” his voice dropped to a flat, cold murmur, “attempt to harm my Slayer again, I will make you pay in ways you will wish you had never learned. Do we understand each other, Quentin? And you can take that half-baked apology and shove it up your arse!”

There was a short pause, then Giles said clearly, “I bloody well can talk to you like that. I am no longer your employee. I quit. Do you hear me you miserable wanker? I no longer work for you and neither does Buffy. You would do well to keep your employees out of Sunnydale from now on. After,” he added, “they pick up the bodies left behind by your less-than-tame vampire.”

He hung up the phone decisively, turning around just in time to see Buffy come into the room and run to hug her mother. When his surrogate daughter turned to face him with eyes that managed to express rage, pain and incredible disappointment all at the same time, he could only hang his head in abject apology.

“I will understand if you choose not to forgive me, Buffy,” he said quietly. “But I would hope that you will give me another chance to prove to you how extremely sorry I am and how truly important you are to me.”

“Did you just quit the Council?”

“Yes,” he replied shortly. “It would appear that I am now unemployed - except of course, for Sunnydale High School’s library. I suspect however, that the buffer provided by the Council between Principal Snyder and myself is going to be gone by the time we get back to school, so that job may also be gone quite soon.”

Buffy and her mother sat on the couch while her former Watcher stood uncertainly by the phone, wondering if he was ever going to be welcome in this house again. His eye was rapidly swelling shut and turning a darker shade of purple while he stood indecisively. With a resigned wave of her hand, Joyce gestured to the chair not occupied by a vampire and told him, “Sit down, Rupert. I guess we are all going to be in this together.”

She perked up and asked him suddenly, “Does this mean that Buffy is no longer the Slayer? That she can quit and have a – a normal life?” She looked at the man hopefully, trying not to see the pained look on Spike’s face when she expressed the wish for her daughter to have a normal life.

“I sincerely doubt it, Joyce. The Council does not choose the Slayers, nor are they responsible for giving them their powers. Buffy will be a Slayer for the rest of her life. And since you live on the Hellmouth, chances that she will not have to continue to slay are very slim. The vampires and demons will not care who she is employed by – it will still be a battle of good versus evil with Buffy as the lone warrior for good.”

“Not alone.” Spike’s growl reminded everyone of his presence and Buffy gave him a grateful smile as the Watcher stared at him in surprise.

“You are staying here, then?” he asked curiously.

“For as long as she’ll have me,” the vampire answered, moving to stand near the Slayer. “I figure with two of us to contend with, most big bads will choose to move on to someplace safer.”

“And the ones that don’t?” Joyce asked quietly.

“Then they’ll have a chance to take on a Slayer and a master vampire at the same time. Should be fun,” he added with a wink at Buffy.

“Are you saying you intend to assist Buffy in her slaying duties? To fight at her side against your own kind?” Hope and disbelief were both clearly audible in the ex-Watcher’s voice.

“Well….” Spike seemed to suddenly realize what he’d just said. “I’m not saying I’m going to be all soul-having and redemption bound like Peaches. Still a vampire, here, you know.”

Buffy stood up and walked over to him, standing just close enough to look him in the eye and ask, “What ARE you saying, then, Spike?” She shook her head, her long blond hair hiding her face when she looked down. “I can’t let you stay here and hunt in Sunnydale. We’ll be right back where we were last year.”

The sadness in her voice tore at his heart and he stepped closer, lifting her chin so that she was looking into his eyes again. They seemed to forget the other two people in the room as they stared at each other, the Slayer’s face reflecting the same sad determination that it had the last time he was in Sunnydale.

“What I’m saying, love, is that I don’t know what I’m gonna do. All I know is that I can’t leave you again. If you want me gone, you’ll have to dust me. And I won’t stand by and watch you risk your life every night without being there to watch your back. If that means it turns out I’m fighting on the side of the white hats – well, I guess…I guess I’ll just have to learn to live with that.”

“Can you do that? You don’t have a soul. When Angel lost his soul, he was—“

“I’m not Angelus, pet. I control my demon; it doesn’t control me. I don’t need a soul, I’m gonna have a built-in conscience.” He stroked her hair lightly, his meaning perfectly clear. Then he leaned down and whispered into her ear, “Maybe even a live-in conscience, if I’m lucky.”

Buffy blushed and pushed him away just hard enough to show she heard him, before turning to look at Giles and her mother. She took a deep breath, and said clearly, “Spike is going to stay here. With me. We…we’re going to be together. He’s my—“ she was at a loss as to what to call the vampire to whom she was apparently mated for life. “…my boyfriend,” she finished lamely, with an apologetic look at his happy face.

“I believe we received that message quite plainly when we found you together at the boarding house,” her watcher said dryly.

Joyce fought down the urge to insist that Buffy was too young for the kind of commitment she seemed to be making, although she couldn’t control a small sigh as she said, “I suppose pointing out the difference in your ages would be a waste of time?”

Buffy moved over to kneel in front of her mother and look up at her earnestly.

“Mom, I know this isn’t what you want for me. I know that you want me to go to college, get married and give you fat grandbabies. There’s a part of me that wants all that too, but I know it will never happen. I’m already one of the longest-lived Slayers in centuries; most of them don’t last long enough to have a Cruciamentum. But with Spike to help me, I might be able to set the record. Maybe I’ll be the first Slayer to live long enough to retire!”

Her mother looked at her hopefully, smiling at the optimism on Buffy’s face, but Joyce’s face fell again as Buffy continued, “Or, maybe not. Maybe some demon or some vamp is going to get lucky—if not tomorrow night, then the night after. Or six months from now. I don’t know. I just know that I want to spend however much time I have with the man I love. All those other things just aren’t in my future – no matter who I’m with. I’m sorry, Mom. I really am, but this is what my life is – it’s slaying and fighting and saving the world - and I want to do it with Spike.”

Joyce looked up at the vampire who was wearing an expression that could only be called joyous. She was puzzled about the look on his face until she thought back over Buffy’s words and realized that it was probably the first time he’d heard Buffy admit that she loved him. She tried to catch his eye, but he was firmly focused on the girl still kneeling in front of her, staring at her as though afraid she was going to vanish any minute.

The older woman sighed again, then stood, pulling Buffy to her feet with her. She walked over to the vampire, bringing Buffy with her and taking Spike’s hand in hers. With Buffy on one side and the vampire on the other, she asked him clearly, “Do you love my daughter?”

“With all my heart,” he replied immediately, looking not at her, but at Buffy. Then he turned his head and looked at Joyce.

“I know I wouldn’t be your first choice for your daughter, but I promise you I will do everything I can to keep her alive and happy. That’s all I can do.”

Joyce nodded sadly. “I suppose it’s all I can ask.” She moved her hands together until she could let go and leave Spike and Buffy holding hands. Then she gave the vampire a stern look and said firmly, “If you ever make her unhappy, I will personally remove your head with an axe.”

With a quick glance at the battered ex-watcher, Spike grinned and said, “I don’t doubt it for a minute.”

The three of them stood quietly for a few seconds, each lost in his or her own thoughts until Giles cleared his throat, breaking the spell and asking meekly, “Is there any chance an extremely humble and apologetic ex-Watchers Council employee could add his approval to this apparent union?”

Three pairs of eyes turned on him with varying degrees of warmth, gazing long enough to cause him to drop his head and begin to turn away before Buffy said, “Do you really mean that, Giles? You’re okay with this?”

“I would have to conquer a lifetime of training in order to be ‘okay’ with it,” he admitted quietly. “However, I can argue with neither your assessment of the likelihood of your living a normal life nor the fact that having a master vampire of Spike’s reputation and abilities increases that likelihood tremendously. Not to mention,” he said wryly, “you rarely listen to my advice anyway.”

Quiet laughter at his expense broke the tension and Joyce went to get drinks from the kitchen while Giles sat down to talk to Spike and Buffy about Kralik and how they had defeated him. When Spike proudly told him that Buffy had done it all by herself, the man breathed out a sigh and slumped back in his chair saying, “Those prats have been underestimating you from the beginning. Let us hope that this time they finally understand what a treasure they have lost.”

An hour later, Joyce was yawning and even Spike was looking tired. There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone stood up. Buffy had been sitting on Spike’s lap, and they were still holding hands as Joyce said pointedly, “It’s time to say ‘good-night’, Buffy.”

Buffy looked at Spike anxiously, asking, “Where are you going to stay? You can’t spend the day in your car.”

Giles cleared his throat and offered quietly, “You may stay with me if you like, William. Until you have had time to make other arrangements.”

“’Preciate that, Rupert,” Spike said, genuinely touched. “I’ll get out of your hair as soon as I can. Get a place of my own tomorrow night.”

Giving Buffy a chaste kiss on her lips and shaking hands with Joyce, he followed the Watcher out the door to their separate vehicles and drove off into what was left of the night.

Joyce and Buffy stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked at each other before Joyce said with a sigh, “I’m not going to be able to keep you two apart, am I?”

Buffy shook her head and blushed, but met her mother’s eyes firmly.
“No,” she said simply.

“Oh well,” Joyce said as she turned to go upstairs, “At least he can’t get you pregnant.”

“Moooom!”

Laughter drifted down the stairs as the Slayer glared after her mother.


Chapter Twenty-three

Before he went to the Watcher’s, Spike found a basement apartment he liked; as soon as the sun was down the following evening he took Buffy with him to sign the lease. He explained to the bored rental agent that he preferred the apartment to be in his “wife’s” name for business reasons.

While they walked to the building where Spike had already parked his Desoto, he explained that with her name on the lease, the apartment would be protected against other vampires whereas with his name on it, there would be nothing to prevent any glory-seeking vamps from dropping in unexpectedly.

“Got no desire to have a perfectly good shag interrupted by some stupid git that thinks we can’t dust him just cause we’re naked.”

“Ewww. I don’t want any vamps seeing me naked!”

“None? Is that right, Slayer?” His tongue curled behind his teeth as he leered at her, running his eyes up and down her body. He was gratified to hear her heart beat a little faster and sense a rise in her body temperature as she pretended to be offended and punched his arm.

The apartment Spike had found was a little further away from Revello Drive than he would have hoped, but it had its own entrance off the side of the building, including a small patio with pots of flowers and room for sitting outside. He opened the door, holding it for Buffy as she hesitantly walked in and looked around. There wasn’t much there - the apartment had not come furnished and all there was in the first room was a rickety table left by the former resident.

She turned to look at him, frowning when he didn’t follow her into the apartment.

“Spike?”

The vampire grinned at her from his position, leaning against an invisible wall across the doorway.

Buffy flushed, embarrassed at having forgotten the very reason he put his new living quarters in her name. “Come in, Spike,” she said, laughing as he tried to maintain his cool demeanor when the barricade vanished and he fell into the room.

“Might give a bloke some warning, pet,” he grumbled, the twinkle in his eyes belying the grumpy tone. “Nice to know it’s going to work, I guess.”

The small, windowless bedroom contained a brand new mattress and box spring, still in the plastic in which they’d been shipped from the store. Lying on top of them was a still-packaged set of expensive sheets in a crimson shade. Buffy raised her eyebrows at his innocent expression.

“No chairs, but fancy sheets for the bed?” she teased, beginning to pull the plastic off the mattress even as she scolded him.

“Got my priorities straight, pet,” he smirked as he began unwrapping the sheets. “If I wanted to sit, I could do that at your mother’s house.”

With both of them working, it took only a few minutes to have the sheets opened and on the bed; they stepped back to admire their handiwork, unconsciously moving until they were standing together and looking at the now-made bed sitting in the middle of the room. The vampire wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled the side of her neck, creating tingles when his mouth ran across the tiny fang marks on her neck.

Buffy giggled and squirmed as he licked his marks, asking in a breathy voice, “Is the way that makes me feel part of the claim, or is it just you?”

“I’d like to think it’s just me, pet,” he murmured, continuing to worry the marks with his lips and tongue, “but I suspect it’s a bit of both. They’ll always be sensitive to my touch. At least they will until they fade completely.”

She turned in his arms, facing him and tilting her face up. “They’re going to fade? I thought this was a ‘for life’ kind of thing?”

“It is, usually. But we’re not both vampires, we’re not renewing it regularly, and you didn’t claim me back; you just accepted my claim, so I don’t really know what to expect. I’m thinking that as the marks fade -- which, with your Slayer healing, they should pretty soon—the claim’s effects will fade too.”

“And here I thought they were making an honest woman of me,” she teased. “Like a vampire marriage or something.”

“Say the word, love, and I’ll make whatever kind of woman you want to be out of you,” he said perfectly seriously.

“Oh,” she breathed, surprised by both the sincerity and the intensity of his words and voice. “I think right now I just want to be a very well-loved, sexually satisfied woman. I’ll worry about ‘honest’ later.”

He picked her up and knelt on the bed, holding her tightly against his chest before laying her down gently. He shrugged out of his duster and kicked off his boots before lying down beside her. Rather than grabbing her roughly as she expected, he propped himself on one elbow and gently traced her face, smoothing back stray hairs and touching her reverently.

“My own warrior elf queen,” he said with a soft smile. “Bloody dream come true, this is.”

“Dream version of warrior elf queen is kind of a hard act to follow,” Buffy said, rubbing her cheek against his hand like a cat. “What if it turns out you don’t really like the real me? Ordinary Slayer and high school student?”

“Trust me, love, there is nothing ordinary about you. I know it; your Watcher knows it; and now the bloody Council of Wankers knows it. You are the best Slayer I’ve ever come across and one hell of a woman to boot. You’re just going to get better and better and I’m going to be here to see that you have a chance to do just that.”

“My own knight in shining…um…black leather,” she responded stroking his face with her own hand.

Almost simultaneously, the serious expressions on their faces changed, the vampire’s eyes darkening as he leaned in to nip at her lips with his blunt teeth, the Slayer’s breath hitching in response to his hand having slid up under her shirt. Without more conversation, a year’s worth of pent-up lust and craving exploded and they came together in a frenzy of ripping cloth and muffled whimpers. The quick reunion coupling of the night before had only taken the edge off the need to be connected as intimately as possible, not diminished it, and they were soon gasping in unison as Buffy’s legs parted to welcome Spike in.

“Aaaah,” she moaned as she once again felt him filling her completely. She whispered against his neck, “You feel so good in me. You make me feel…”She struggled for words to express the feeling of completion and rightness that was sparked by having his cock buried inside her and his lean, muscular body pressed against hers.

The vampire was having his own temporary lack of coherence as he felt himself surrounded by the heat and strength of the woman he’d given his heart to so many years ago. He was drowning in the scent and feel of her skin, the sound of her heart beating, the feel of the blood pulsing through her veins so near to his mouth. His demon was demanding he renew the claim; that he draw more of the powerful blood rushing so tantalizingly close. So strong was the urge to bite her again that he had to hold himself up on his arms and stop moving until he was once again in control of himself.

“What’s the matter?” Buffy’s anxious voice snapped his attention back to her face and he saw the uncertainty in her eyes. “Don’t you want me any-“

“Bloody hell, Buffy,” he groaned, falling down on her and kissing her savagely. “Want you so badly I’m afraid I won’t be able to control the demon. Being in you, having you around me, I could dust right now and die happy. I’m just trying not to spoil it by biting you again.”

“Okay,” she said, her voice muffled by the mouth still worrying her own. “In the first place – if the choice is dusting or biting? I vote for biting. Not real interested in sleeping with a pile of dust, thank you very much. And as for ‘spoiling’ anything by biting me, I seem to remember that being pretty much the biggest happy of any that you’ve given me so far, so not quite getting why you think it would be a bad thing.”

To emphasize her point, she began moving her hips and squeezing rhythmically, forcing him to fall into the steady movements and surrender to the sheer pleasure of her body. With a resigned sigh, he began his own steady motion, feeling her building to her release even as his balls began to tighten.

“Love you, Buffy,” he growled as his face shifted. “I love you so much…” As he felt her clench around him and arch up with a cry, he let his fangs slip into the marks and he pulled two deep draughts of her blood as he pumped his own release into her welcoming body.

As before, the feeling of her blood being pulled into his mouth sent her spiraling into another orgasm that left her clutching him to her with all her strength as she muffled her cries by fastening her teeth on his shoulder. The feel of her teeth in his skin was all it took to make him harden again immediately and his hips were moving anew before either of them had actually recovered from the first orgasms.

This time, he was able to slow himself down and enjoy the feel of her heated warmth as he slipped in and out easily, setting a gentle rhythm that Buffy quickly matched with her own corresponding movements. As the pace and force of his thrusts increased, she suddenly flexed her newly recovered Slayer muscles and flipped them over so that she was sitting astride his hips, riding his cock much as she had before he left Sunnydale.

He grinned up at her, not hiding his appreciation as he said, “There’s my queen in all her regal glory. Ride me, love. Show me what you want from me, Buffy. Make me your—“ His words broke off as she squeezed down on him, sending his eyes rolling back in his head.

“What do you think, Spike? Do I have all my powers back yet?” she asked with a giggle.

“I bloody well hope so,” he gasped. “If you get any stronger, you’re going to break me. Not that I’m complainin’,” he hastened to add as she relaxed and started to push herself off. “No, love. Don’t pull away from me. I’m a stupid git for saying that. Never want you to hold back with me. Give it to me good, Slayer. I can take it. I want everything you’ve got, Buffy.”

He watched anxiously as the uncertainty on her face was replaced by a growing joy, relaxing only when she resumed her internal assault on his cock. Exhaling the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, he thrust his hips up to meet hers and growled low in his throat.

The growl shot all the way through her body, sending vibrations everywhere including her clit and stimulating another build-up of sensation in her lower body.

“Spiiiiike,” she whimpered, unwilling to change what she was doing that was obviously pleasing him so much, but knowing she wasn’t going to find her own release in that position.

“I’ve got you, love,” he replied, understanding immediately and reaching for her with his fingers. He began the gentle stimulation she needed, already knowing her body well enough to understand when to begin twisting and pulling until she clamped her muscles around him and threw her head back in ecstasy.

The climactic tightening of her muscles around him was enough to send him flying over the edge also and when the slayer collapsed against his chest shuddering with the aftershocks, he was ready to join her in exhausted relief. For long minutes she lay on top of him while he stroked her back with long, powerful sweeps of his hands, murmuring his appreciation and love into her ear while she breathed deeply and waited for her heart to stop pounding.

When she had recovered enough to speak, she raised her head and kissed his chest, mumbling, “If we keep this up, the Council will have to send another Slayer, ‘cause this one’s not leaving this bed. Ever.”

With a gentle chuckle, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “That’s fine with me, love, but I think we might get hungry eventually.”

As if to emphasize his point, her stomach gurgled, reminding her that she had not eaten since lunchtime. With an embarrassed giggle, she rolled off to the side groaning, “Could that have been less sexy or romantic?”

Spike chuckled again and rubbed his face on her belly, tickling her with his tongue until she giggled and squirmed away.

“There’s nothing you could do that I wouldn’t find sexy, pet. But that just proves I was right. We have to go eat at some point. And I thought maybe we’d hit the furniture store and see what else I need.”

“I suppose I should patrol,” she sighed. “Just because I did quit, doesn’t mean I can quit.”

After a last lingering kiss that threatened to turn into more, they reluctantly got up and began to dress. Spike showed Buffy where the bathroom was and she was touched to see that he had also purchased His and Her towels when he got the bedding, as well as toilet paper, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes, shampoo and bath gel.

“Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?” she teased. “Who says I’m going to be spending so much time here I’ll need all those things?”

“I say so, Slayer,” he growled possessively, then suddenly appeared less sure of himself. “You ARE going to be here a lot, aren’t you? I got it for you. If it was just me, I could live in a crypt somewhere.”

“I was just kidding, you big baby,” she stood on her toes and pulled on his pouting lower lip with her teeth. “I’ll be here as much and as often as I can.”

She quickly cleaned up and got dressed, smiling with delight when he handed her one of the two keys as they went out the door and off to find food and evildoers to slay.


Chapter Twenty-four

After a quick meal and even quicker patrol of the closest cemeteries, they stopped by Giles’ apartment to let him know that Spike now had his own place and would not be needing the ex-Watcher’s hospitality anymore. To their surprise, a full Scoobie meeting seemed to be in progress with Willow, Jenny, Xander and Angel sitting around the living room. It was more than obvious that there had been an argument going on – Willow and Jenny were on one side of the room, facing Xander and Angel who were busy yelling at Giles.


When the door had swung open, showing clearly the two blonds on the other side, an uncomfortable silence fell immediately. Buffy and Spike stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind them and looking around at the angry faces.

“Did our invitation get lost in the mail?” the vampire said in a sarcastic drawl .

“What’s up, guys?” Buffy asked, glaring the smirking vampire beside her into silence. “Is there a new big bad in town for me to…”

Her voice trailed off as she read the barely controlled anger on the face of her vamped-out ex-boyfriend and her equally game-faced friend. As subtly as possible, she stepped in front of Spike and dropped into a fighting stance. She’d been sure that over the course of the past year, both Angel and Xander had accepted that, while she cared for both of them, she had no interest in a romantic relationship with either one. Angel had seemed to accept her decision, albeit with some sadness and reluctance; but Xander, despite the soul Willow and Jenny had given him, refused to give up the idea that Buffy would see him as more than a close friend now that he was a vampire. They had had more than one testy confrontation in which Buffy had to re-explain, sometimes by waving a stake, that she was no more interested in a physical relationship with him than she had ever been.

Quickly reading the situation, Spike stepped up behind Buffy, touching her lightly to let her know that he would back her whatever she decided. The easy familiarity with which he touched Buffy’s back was all it took to snap the little bit of control holding Xander back and he leaped at Buffy, fangs aiming for her throat as he snarled his right to her.


Before Spike could close the hand already reaching around the fledgling vamps throat, Xander had recoiled, shaking his head in confusion. He looked at his mentor for an explanation as he snarled, “Why can’t I bite her?”

“You mean, aside from the fact that you’d be dust before you took the first sip?” Spike asked coldly, still holding the younger vampire by the neck.

From the corner of his eye he could see Angel’s eyes narrowing with suspicion and the growing anger as his suspicions were confirmed by Buffy’s hand rubbing the marks on her neck. He wondered briefly if the Watcher had any idea what a fight to the death between two master vampires would do to his apartment before turning his attention back to the struggling vamp in his hand.

He shook the larger vampire roughly, his own demon face coming to the fore, until Xander stopped struggling and just hung there, growling with humiliation. Spike glanced quickly at Angel again before saying to Buffy, “Your call, pet. You can do it, or I can do it, but he crossed the line when he attacked you.”

There was no trace of the Victorian gentleman or the tender lover she knew was in there, only an extremely pissed-off master vampire whose mate had been attacked. The other human faces in the room bore various expressions of shock and fear as the vampires faced off. Willow’s eyes were brimming with tears as she realized that the friend she’d saved once from the Slayer’s stake might have gone too far this time.

Buffy turned to the souled vampire she’d known first and, ignoring the fury on his face, she answered his unspoken question, saying coldly, “Yes, it’s what you think it is. We’re not sure if it’s going to last, but right now it appears to have saved me from a bite, so I’m thinking, maybe, yes? Either way, if you two can’t deal with the situation, you have two choices – leaving Sunnydale is one of them.”

“Let’s be clear on what the situation is, Buffy,” Angel managed to snarl. “I want to be sure Giles knows.”

“The situation is that I love Spike and he loves me. We’re together and we plan to stay together. Yes, he accidentally claimed me and I accepted. No biggie. My guess is we’ll be renewing it and I’ll be claiming him back one of these days. Or maybe we won’t. Either way, it’s none of your business –or Giles’ for that matter.” She sent a quick apologetic glance towards her Watcher who was watching carefully with his lips pinched tightly together.

“The point is, this is the way things are. I think it might be in your best interest to find somewhere else to live –and to take Xander with you.”

Spike’s snarl told her what he thought of letting the other vampire go free and she clasped his free hand reassuringly.

“He was my friend, Spike,” she said quietly. “And Willow still loves him.”

“You said leaving Sunnydale was one option, Buffy. What is the other?” Angel had risen to his feet, still in game face, sending the humans in the room shrinking against the far end of the room.

Without a word, Buffy pulled the stake from the waistband of her pants, holding it loosely but firmly. The vampire looked at her determined face and nodded, dropping back into his human guise. He turned and without a word to anyone walked past them to the door, opening it and looking back pointedly at the other vampire still dangling from Spike’s left hand.

Spike looked at Buffy, shook his head in disagreement, then shrugged and dropped Xander to the floor, growling, “Don’t ever let me see you near here again.”

With another furious look around the room, the dark-haired boy stomped his way to the door turning around to snarl, “Oh, you won’t see me, Spike. But I’ll be back and I’ll have a stake with your name on it. You can count on it.”

Faster than the eye, Buffy’s stake flew across the short distance between them and she watched, grim-faced, as one of the first people to befriend her when she came to Sunnydale exploded into dust. She cringed a little at hearing Willow’s gasped sob behind her, but kept her chin up defiantly as she stared a silent message at the other vampire in the doorway.

Even Spike looked puzzled as he asked, “What was that all about, pet? He tried to bite you and you were going to let him walk. He makes a stupid threat and you dust him?”

“He threatened YOU,” she said as though there could have been no question about the proper response to such an action. “He threatened you,” she repeated stubbornly as Giles cleared his throat behind them and Jenny tried to comfort Willow.

With one last look at his grandchilde and the Slayer he was now embracing, the only souled vampire in the world left the apartment alone, allowing the door to close quietly behind him.

The End