A/N: I couldn’t get through as much as I wanted with this chapter, but I figured you might want it now, as to not freak out if I didn’t update in so long. It’s been a tough week, so I must say: thanks ever so much for all of the reviews!

I’m sorry to those who hate reading the same lines from the actual show. It was necessary to my sanity to cheat and use them.


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Buffy walked toward the Magic Box, hoping Tara had some news. She couldn’t think about Spike right now, because whenever she did, it scared her. How could she let herself get so emotionally involved? ‘It’s Spike!’ she tried to yell at herself incredulously. ‘It’s just sex! Stop thinking about it!’


But her mind couldn’t help wandering to the feeling of waking up with his arms around her – his arms wrapped protectively around her waist, making her feel more safe than she had been in ages.


‘Ah no! Stop thinking Spike thoughts!’ Buffy yelled to herself, as she shook her head to rid the images.


When she finally willed herself to focus on the matter at hand, she opened the Magic Box door and started to walk in.


“Hi-,” Buffy cut herself off at the sight of Spike, leaning against the counter. He looked up and their eyes locked, both tensing at each other’s presence.


A suspicious look flashed across Tara’s face as she observed the exchange of silence. Seconds ticked by…


“Hey Buffy,” Tara interrupted their moment and Buffy jerked her head up, breaking eye contact with him.


“H-hey Tara,” Buffy replied, trying to focus on her and not the blonde to her side. “Hey guys.”


“Hey,” the others replied.


“Buffy, I found something yesterday,” Tara began. “It’s not much, but it’s something…”


“Really??” Buffy couldn’t help but sound extremely hopeful. She darted her eyes around to look at the others, wondering if Tara let them in on what she was looking for.


“Oh y-yea…I told them,” Tara gave her an apologetic look. She quickly added, “But I had to b-because…well…look at this book…” She showed Buffy the wooden book.


Spike walked over to the table and looked at the book curiously. “What the hell is it?” he said with a furrowed brow.


“Where did it come from? I didn’t see that one when we were all researching,” Buffy asked, confused.


“Well, no one knows where it came from. It just dropped down from the bookcase. A-and when I was looking at it, the pages flipped to this one,” Tara pointed to the section.


Buffy and Spike both reached out to grab the book from Tara at the same time. As their hands brushed against each other’s, a warm tingle radiated from the contact and they locked eyes. Jerking their hands away quickly, they dropped the book with a thud, causing the rest of the gang to look up at them.


The others looked confused at the fumbling blondes, who were looking slightly uncomfortable as they avoided each other’s gaze. Buffy and Spike looked up to see them staring.


“Something wrong?” Tara asked, amused at their apparent tension. She had a feeling they were hiding something.


“What? Oh, it was just kind of heavy, that’s all,” Buffy replied nervously. Spike was picking up the book and trying to appear composed. How a little innocent touch like that could bring back a graphic flash of memories was lost to him.


“You guys are acting funny…What gives?” Xander eyed them suspiciously.


“Nothing,” they both replied at the same time. Anya, Tara, and Willow all gave each other a look. Xander looked back and forth between this brief exchange, and his expression turned into a puzzled frown.


Giles caught the exchange as well, and he looked up at Buffy and Spike, realizing how much he hadn’t been paying attention these past few days. ‘Did something happen? They’re acting very peculiar…’ He kept quiet though, cleaning his glasses as he thought to himself.


Buffy and Spike grew nervous at all the looks being exchanged at their expense. Resorting to snarky, Spike said, “What? You guys act like you’ve never seen mutual hate before.” He finished with a roll of his eyes.


The words stung more than Buffy expected. She knew they were playing the avoid-y game and that’s how she liked it, but her stomach clenched at his words. Whether it was an act or the truth, it brought back all of her insecurities about their sex-capades. Anger began to boil inside her at thought of being used. ‘That’s all it was, sex.’ It was both what she had been telling herself, and a disappointing feeling at the same time.


“Yea, you guys should be use to it by now,” Buffy replied coldly. She moved closer to Spike to look at the book, but avoided eye contact, forcing herself not to be affected by their closeness.


He looked down at her by his side, and felt the anger coming off of her. He suddenly felt like a total wanker. He hadn’t thought before he opened his mouth. She was hurt. Pushing away his thoughts, he forced himself to focus on the book.


They read the description to themselves. Buffy scrunched up for forehead in thought, anger suddenly forgotten. “That’s it?” Buffy said with obvious disappointment on her face.


“Well, yea…,” Tara replied sympathetically, “but the book literally flipped to this page on its own. That’s gotta mean it’s i-important, right?...”


“I guess…,” Buffy said with a sad look, stepping away from Spike and the book. Spike frowned at her hasty move to get away from him, and why he cared that much anyway.


“Maybe, we can find out more about this gem somewhere else,” Tara said in a hopeful voice.


The front door opened abruptly, and Leanna came waltzing in, causing a round of silent groans.


Leanna’s fury rose at the sight of Buffy, but she quickly suppressed it and put on a sarcastic smile. “Oh hi Buffy,” Leanna said with scheming eyes and false cheerfulness.


“Huh?” Buffy asked with a dumbfounded expression. She was guessing Leanna didn’t know anything about her and Spike, but nevertheless, the nice greeting was chillingly creepy.


“I’m glad you’re here,” Leanna continued with fake conviction.


“I’m scared,” Xander commented in a nervous voice.


“Um…actually, me too,” Spike replied slowly, as he took a cautious step back.


“YOU are glad I’M here?” Buffy asked with complete confusion.


“Well of course! After our little talk the other day, I thought we were friends now?” Leanna asked innocently.


“What talk?” Buffy and Spike simultaneously questioned. They really had to stop doing that.


Leanna walked up to Buffy, and to the shock of many, took Buffy’s hands in hers like a comforting friend and said, “Listen Buffy. I know you didn’t want me to say anything about what you told me, but I really have to.” She dropped Buffy’s hands and stepped back with a fake ‘sorry’ smile.


Buffy look at her hands like they had been burned and deformed. “What the heck are you talking about?” Buffy asked quickly.


Leanna ignored her and turned to Spike. “Spike, Buffy told me everything.”


“What are you talking about? Told you what?” Spike asked.


“I know about Drusilla,” Leanna said with a calculating look.


Spike’s eyes widened. He cautiously asked, “What do you mean?”


“I’m talking about the part where you failed to tell the rest of us that Drusilla killed a child and you made her leave to cover it up.”


“What!?!?” the others exclaimed. A flurry of questions came at him from all directions. Buffy stood frozen, wondering how Leanna knew and realizing what she was plotting with her false act of friendship.


“Spike, what the hell is she talking about?” Xander exclaimed.


“I thought Drusilla left on her own?” Giles asked.


Panic surfaced in him. The thing he had been hiding for so long was suddenly thrown out into the open. Realizing he only told Buffy, he turned to her and threw her an accusing and murderous glare.


Buffy saw the rage in his eyes, and the hurt behind them. He didn’t believe that she would actually tell Leanna, did he? “Spike, I didn’t tell her anything, I swear! I don’t even know what ‘talk’ she’s talking about! We don’t even get along - you know that!”


“I didn’t tell anyone else, slayer,” Spike said with malice.


“So it’s true??” Willow asked, perplexed.


“Why didn’t you ever tell us?” Anya badgered.


“You are the biggest scheming bitch I have ever met in my whole life,” Buffy said with pure contempt as she stared Leanna down. “I don’t know how you found out, but I sure as hell wouldn’t tell YOU anything, you slut.”


Spike ignored the stare down between Leanna and Buffy. Instead, he was focused on the gang, who were waiting impatiently for answers.


He sighed in frustration. He was trapped and there was no way out of it. “…Drusilla didn’t leave because she wanted to, like I told you guys...” He looked down in shame, “She was going crazy and getting violent. She…she killed a child before I could stop her.”


He clenched his jaw as continued, “I know how wrong it was…but I couldn’t bring myself to kill her, so I let her go…” Pain was evident on his face. The memory was distant and unattached, but the hurt expressions on the faces of his friends were not.


“How could you let her get away with that?” Giles accused.


“And how could you not tell us and tell Buffy!?” Xander exclaimed.


“I don’t know myself,” Spike turned to Buffy with a cold expression.


“I didn’t tell Leanna!” Buffy protested. “Can’t you see she’s trying to make it seem like I did!?”


“Actually, why did you just tell us this, Leanna?” Tara asked.


Leanna gave Tara a ‘glad-you-asked’ expression, before she turned back to Spike. “Because she’s back in town. I just saw her.”


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Dawn was at home making herself a snack before mom came home to make dinner. ‘Peanut butter is oh so yummy. Tastes good with blood.’ She hummed to herself as she put pure peanut butter in a bowl and warmed up some blood in a mug.


The doorbell rang and she looked at her peanut-y fingers with a frown. She quickly licked each finger and wiped her hands on her jeans. “Coming!” Dawn yelled loudly at the door.


Hoping it was Buffy, she reached for the knob and flung the door open. Instead of a blonde human, she was met with a brunette one. Drusilla.


“Drusilla,” Dawn both said and questioned with a surprised look.


“Hello little one,” she began. Drusilla looked amazingly calm and composed, but it gave Dawn a very eerie feeling that something was off. Drusilla had always looked a little frightening, with her jet black hair and dark eyes contrasting her pale skin. Her beauty was chilling, like it should be feared, not appreciated.


“I’ve come back to my prince. He’s been very, very naughty. He will have no cakes today, no he won’t.”


Dawn looked at her like she was insane. Nothing had changed apparently. “Spike’s not here, Drusilla.”


“I will wait for him. Invite me in, please,” Drusilla said with a polite look.


Dawn hesitated. She knew Drusilla was Spike’s ex, but the idea of being in the house alone with her gave her an uneasy feeling.


“Maybe you should come back later,” Dawn began cautiously.


Drusilla began to whimper. She held her doll up for Dawn to see. “Miss Edith is hungry. Can we have something yummy to eat?”


Dawn was apprehensive, but she thought Spike might be mad at her if she turned Drusilla away. Reluctantly, Dawn said, “Ok…I guess you could come in and get something to eat.”


Drusilla’s eyes glistened at the invitation, as she stepped in the barrier-less door.


Dawn let Drusilla follow her into the kitchen. “Why did you come back, Drusilla?”


“I’ve come to make everything right again. I won’t let the evil birdie ruin the tea party,” she said with a hint of anger.


“What?” Dawn scrunched up her face. She always had the hardest time deciphering Dru’s gibberish.


“The slayer. She floats around taunting me, taunting my poor Spike.” Her eyes turned pitch black as her light mood came to an abrupt end.


But Dawn wasn’t looking. She was pulling non-blood things of the fridge for Drusilla, with her head lowered. “Oh you mean Buffy. Well you have been gone a long time, Drusilla.” Dawn stood up with her arms full of random food items and she plopped it down on the counter. When Dawn looked up at Drusilla, she froze at the look on her face.


She looked downright scary. Her eyes looked stormy black. Drusilla said, “Where is my Spike? Tell Miss Edith.”


Dawn backed up a step as Drusilla came closer. “I-I don’t know,” she faltered as she inched away.


“Tsk tsk. Tell me or I shall be very cross with you,” Drusilla said as she stepped towards Dawn slowly.


“Drusilla, maybe you should come back later…,” Dawn said nervously.


In a flash of a moment, Drusilla slashed her sharp nails down against Dawn’s cheek. At the same time, Dawn vamped and cried out in pain, as she felt the blood trickle on her face. She clutched her cheek at the burning pain, but when she opened her eyes in fear, Drusilla wasn’t there. Scared, she held her cheek and looked to both sides. The door was open – Drusilla was already gone.


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He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘How could she come back?? She was never supposed to come back…’


“If she’s back, then we need to find her. She’s dangerous,” Giles said.


Spike was snapped out of his thoughts. “Right. Let’s split up, we’ll cover more ground.”


“Leanna, where did you see her?” Giles asked.


“She was wandering around near the Bronze about an hour ago,” Leanna replied.


The others grabbed a few basic weapons, just in case, and started to file out. Spike avoided looking at Buffy. She felt an urgent need to defend herself still.


“Spike,” Buffy began.


“Save it,” Spike replied, and he walked out, leaving Leanna and Buffy in the room.


Buffy was about to follow, but she paused and turned around, staring at Leanna with a murderous look. “If I could, I would kick your ass right now until you begged me to stake you.”


Leanna stalked up to her until they were face to face. “But you can’t, can you?” she said with a smug look. Her expression turned deadly, and her grey eyes seemed to darken. “You can’t do anything about it.”


Fury bubbled up inside Buffy. Her natural instinct said to start whooping some ass, but she knew what the chip felt like, and it would only work against her pride if she tried anything. Instead, she forced herself to push the rage aside, turn around, and walk out without responding. She’d have to find some way to kick the bitch’s ass, but right now, she needed to talk to Spike.


Leanna watched her go with a gleeful look on her face. She had expected Spike to start defending the stupid tramp, but it was like he was just looking for a reason to be mad at Buffy. With a content sigh, she turned around and walked over to the table. Now that they were all gone, she finally had her chance.


Looking at the wooden book, she ran her fingers along the cover before opening it and shuffling through it once again. Finding the page she wanted, she quickly ripped it out of the book. Folding it up in a small square, she stuffed it down her shirt, closed the book, and turned to go pretend she was looking for Drusilla.



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