Buffy sat down on the bed, cradling her face with her hands. This can’t be happening. I really need to wake up now!

“Feelin’ any better, luv?”

Buffy looked up to find Spike standing in the doorway, holding a plate on which two slices of toast sat. “I’m not hungry,” she muttered.

“Nonsense,” dismissed Spike as he walked toward her, extending the plate in front of her. “This’ll help quiet that stomach of yours.” Buffy’s eyes traveled between the toast and Spike. She couldn’t help but wonder if he had drugged her somehow last night and had laced this seemingly innocent toast with her next dose. “Eat!”

Buffy swallowed nervously, taking the plate out of Spike hand. She lifted one slice to her nose, giving it a sniff. Then she slowly stuck out her tongue, testing the surface of the bread for anything that might taste sinister.

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow in confusion, “It’s toast, Buffy.”

“I know, it just, um. Smelled good. And, so I wanted to, uh. Check. You know, for uh, toasty goodness.” She took a bite of her breakfast, not completely convinced that it was safe.

A wicked grin spread across Spike’s face, “If I had known you were so fond of lickin’ toast I would have made some last night.”

Buffy choked. When she recovered she asked, forcefully, “What the hell is that suppose to mean?”

Spike’s expression shifted from playful sex kitten to concerned husband. “Did somethin’ happen on patrol last night?”

Stalling, Buffy swallowed down a couple bites of toast before answering, “No. The usual. Just fighting.”

Not at all convinced, Spike continued, “You sure? Nothin’ out of the ordinary?”

“Spike, this is Sunnydale. Everything is out of the ordinary!”

Spike smiled at Buffy’s response. He watched her as she placed the last chunk of one slice in her mouth. “True, but there’s somethin’ you’re not tellin’ me.”

Spike sat down next to Buffy, placing his arm around her. Buffy glanced at the pale hand resting on her shoulder, then turned to Spike, who was waiting to meet her eyes with his. His stare was intense. Then again, thought Buffy, everything about Spike is intense. his fighting style, his relentless arguing... his awful hair color. Buffy’s mind drifted to another intense moment they shared together. The kiss. She had tried to push that memory out of her head ever since the night it had happened, blaming the situation on a combination of Sweet’s spell and her overwhelming depression. Still, the feeling of his lips pressing hungrily against hers kept haunting her. His body felt hard against her, but his lips were soft and comforting. She remembered the waves of emotion traveling from head to toe. With one kiss she felt wanted, needed, loved. He did that to her, for her, and she had no feelings for him whatsoever. Well, none other than loathing and disgust. But during that kiss, he was her everything.

“You just seem so out of sorts,” Spike said, bringing Buffy out of her thoughts. Buffy felt increasingly uncomfortable with Spike being so close to her, especially after her little trip down memory lane. She shrugged, hoping the sudden movement would knock Spike’s arm free. It didn’t work.

A few quiet seconds drifted by. To Buffy’s relief, Spike eventually removed his arm, standing up from the bed to reposition himself to in front of her until they were face-to-face. Smirking, Spike placed his hands on his hips, “Are you plannin’ on fessin’ up, or do I have to get physical?”

Buffy didn’t miss the double entendre. “Look, Spike, I... I’m a little fuzzy on the details.”

Worry swept across Spike’s features once again, “Just tell me what you can, luv.”

Buffy took a deep breath, wondering what to say. Do I tell him the truth? ‘Ok, Spike, here’s what happened. I went to sleep single and woke up married to the un-dead.’ She decided to glaze over that part. “Well, I was out looking for these three, uh... vampires. I followed them out to a nasty neighborhood on the outskirts of town. I thought they might’ve been hiding in this empty house, so I was about to go inside when a demon jumped out at me. We fought for a while and he ended up stabbing me with his pokey thing.” Realizing how that last sentence sounded she added, “From his hand! The poker was sticking out of his hand.” Buffy looked over at her arm, rubbing her fingers over the fading puncture mark. “Then I went, I mean, came home and here I am.”

Buffy looked up at Spike, trying to see if he bought her story. He returned her gaze and started to shake his head slowly. “You went after three vampires alone? I thought we talked about this, Buffy. You can’t keep taking chances like that! What would’ve happened if those blokes decided to join your demon friend in a game of stomp the Slayer? You could’ve been killed! What the bleeding hell were you thinkin’?!”

“Sorry?” She was relieved that he believed her, but she wasn’t exactly enjoying the scolding Spike was giving her.

Spike let out a sigh, dropping his head and running his fingers through his gelled hair. “I worry about you, is all. Out alone like that. You should’ve wait for me. You knew I was on my way home.” He paused, sighing again, then nodded his head towards Buffy’s mostly healed wound. “How’s your arm?”

“It’s ok.”

Spike took the plate Buffy was still holding out of her hands, taking a bite from the remaining slice of toast. “Any idea what sort of baddie you were dealing with?” Buffy shook her head no. “Well, the Scoobies will be over in a few hours anyway. Might as well put them to work, yeah? As for you, you should jump in the shower right quick before Dawn gets a chance to use all the hot water.”

Again, Buffy was confused. The Scoobies? Xander’s still MIA after the whole wedding fiasco, and Anya won’t return our calls, let alone hit the books. That leaves Willow, Dawn, and me, and we live here... so what is Spike talking about? She decided to be as subtle as possible in finding out. Spike had already turned to leave the room when Buffy finally spoke up, “So, Spike. When you say ‘Scoobies’ you are referring to...?” Ok, so subtlety’s not my thing.

“Dawn didn’t tell you? Willow got a call while I was downstairs. She said that Xander and Anya were back from their honeymoon and wanted to stop by to pass out souvenirs.” With that, Spike headed out the door.

Buffy’s mouth fell agape, “... Oh.”