A/N: Oops, I'm sorry I took so long to update this next chapter! Thanks for the reviews, they are great!


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‘Oh God, what am I doing? What did I do?’ Buffy asked herself as she stood under the spray of the warm shower. She shut her eyes and let the water hit her face, reveling in the warmth. It would have been comforting but her wound stung and she had to try to ignore the pain. ‘How could I agree to going out with Spike? It’s Spike!’ Her mind was reasoning with herself about the absurdity of it all, but the look of worry on his face earlier and the tenderness he showed her melted her heart until she felt like giving in. ‘Oh God,” Buffy thought as she let her forehead hit against the shower wall.


Spike kept going back and forth between his room and the hallway. Finally, he heard her turn off the shower. He strode up to the door with the bundle in one hand and waited for a bit, contemplating if he should knock. She had insisted she was okay and could clean up by herself, but Spike couldn’t help worrying – or pacing the entire time.


“Buffy, luv,” Spike called gently through the door, “Do you need help with the bandaging?”


Buffy eyes widened in slight panic. How was she going to deal with this? She stood there with a towel around her, suddenly realizing she didn’t have any clean clothes to change into.


Quickly, she called out, “No, no! I’m fine!” Her eyes darted around as she tried to think of whether or not she should just put her dirty clothes back on again. She made a face at the thought, since most of it had blood on it.


Spike looked amused as he continued to face the door with clothes in his hands. “You mean you don’t want clean clothes? That’s fine with me. Just come out the way you are, pet.”


Pouting to herself in defeat, she reluctantly moved her body against the door and cracked it open, sticking her head out to look at Spike. Her eyes avoided his and darted around. She felt uncomfortable and awkward without any of her clothes. “Can you bring me something to wear?” Buffy asked, looking nervous.


Spike tilted his head and looked at her with a slight smile. When she looked up at him, he raised his eyebrow and handed her the sweats and the t-shirt he had gotten for her. “Sorry, luv. I don’t have any spare knickers that might be of your fancy,” he said with a smirk. Her shy side was something he had not seen often, and it was damn cute.


She reached her hand out between the crack of the door for the clothes. “Um thanks,” Buffy said quickly as she closed the door to get dressed.


Spike chuckled on the other side of the door, still standing there, waiting to help her bandage the wound up again. His smile faded at the image of the wound from before Wesley had patched it up. He looked down as he tried to control his anger. It was all his stupid fault.


Slipping on the sweats and the oversized t-shirt, Buffy tried to set to the task of removing the wet bandage and putting on a new one. She lifted up her shirt, bunched it up under her arms, and ineffectively tried to wrap the bandage around herself when she heard Spike say, “Buffy, let me help you with the bandage. You’ll bugger it up doing it by yourself.”


“No, it’s ok!” Buffy called back quickly, but she WAS struggling with it herself. Noticing she was doing it too loose, she undid it a bit and pulled it tighter. She inhaled sharply and let out a sound of discomfort at the pain that shot through her.


Spike heard her and he quickly opened the door without asking, scanning her form with worried eyes. “What?” Spike asked urgently, placing his hands on her upper arms as his eyes questioned hers.


“Nothing, I’m fine,” Buffy tried to say, but Spike had already taken the bandage tape from her hands. “No, it’s ok, really, Spike,” Buffy protested.


Spike stopped his actions, and he stepped a little closer to her. He gazed at her freshly showered face and her wet locks, finally looking her in the eyes. He ran his left hand lightly against her cheek, and came in to give her a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll take care of you. Let me help.”


‘How the hell am I supposed to resist when he does that?’ Buffy cried to herself, her entire body already giving in. She let go of the bandage completely, and lifted her shirt with her hands as he started to wrap the bandage around her carefully. She tried to push away the feelings that coursed through her as he brushed up against her skin and reached his arms around her waist to bring the bandage around. Or his head that kept coming close to the nape of her neck, almost touching her.


He took in the scent of her skin, closing his eyes for a brief moment. He was bandaging her with care, but he couldn’t help the familiar stirrings he was having at their closeness. ‘Now is definitely NOT the time, you git,’ he yelled at himself.


Buffy was aching for him to be done, because if he didn’t stop soon, she would jump him, wound be damned. Luckily, he finally stopped and stood back, allowing her to drop her big shirt back down. She looked to the side and crossed her arms, not knowing what to do next. “Thanks…”


“I gotta say, I think that may be the best outfit I’ve seen you wear,” Spike suddenly said, with approval in his eyes.


She unfolded her arms and looked down at herself. She was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a large black t-shirt that had a picture of the Sex Pistols on it. She frowned and pouted, looking up at Spike. “You think this is the best thing I’ve worn??”


“Let me rephrase. Only you could make my old sweats look that sexy,” Spike said in a low voice as he stepped close to her, moving his hands up her arms and sending shivers through her body. Buffy’s lips parted slightly, as Spike’s head moved closer to hers. But instead of kissing her, he moved to the right, so that their cheeks were touching. He inhaled the scent from her hair and turned his face inward, nuzzling her cheek with his eyes closed.


She let out a little gasp at his cool touch, wondering how such an innocent move could turn her on more than a heated kiss. Suddenly, he pulled away and she looked up confused at the loss of contact.


“I’m sorry, luv. We shouldn’t do anything when you’re hurt like that. I’ll stop now,” Spike said with an apologetic look.


“But…I don’t want you to,” Buffy pouted, totally beyond the point of any resistance.


Spike smirked at her before taking both her hands in his and leaning down to her ear. He whispered huskily, “I promise I’ll make it up to you later, when you’re better.”


She shivered at his words, breathing a little heavily already. Spike quickly changed his tone. He wouldn’t be able to control himself if they kept this up. He asked, “Do you want to get something to eat, pet? Let’s go downstairs.”


Her ears perked up at the sound of that. Her stomach made a growling noise that they both heard. “I think that’s a yes.”


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“Ahhhhhhhh!” the female screamed with her hands in the air. “Can you believe that!?”


“I’m surprised,” the male started, “I presumed the whole Leanna factor would surely get the job done.”


“Well, it didn’t, damn it! They killed my diversion!” she yelled. “And now look! They’re in love,” she said with a disgusted face. “What does it take to keep those two apart?” she said in a tired voice.


Rubbing her temples, she tried to relax and regain her composure. Calmer, she asked, “How do you think they got that book? I know they didn’t have that before.”


“Perhaps they are helping her?” he offered.


“Those stupid do-gooders. They disgust me. And can you believe they found information about my gem on the internet!?” she suddenly exasperated. “The INTERNET! Is nothing sacred? It’s one of the biggest forces of power in the world, and the puny humans are using it to tell story time!” she huffed. “Could they have mentioned that I spent 1000 years looking for the damn thing!?” She put on her dramatic face and said, “I’m so unappreciated.”


“Relax. You’ll get the job done, and when you do, you’ll be revered by the entire demon world,” he comforted.


“I better damn well be.”


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They went down the stairs and over to the kitchen. Joyce and Dawn turned at their entrance. Joyce dropped what she was doing and came to stand in front of Buffy. With a concerned look, she asked, “How are you feeling, Buffy?”


“Are you hungry? I can make you pancakes! O-or a hotpocket!” Dawn offered eagerly.


Buffy scrunched up her forehead in thought before asking, “You guys have those things?? Do you guys know you’re vampires?”


“Actually, I went out and got a bunch of food for you. I didn’t know what you would feel like so I just got everything,” Joyce explained. “Don’t you kids like those hotpocket things?”


“Umm, sure,” Buffy replied, a little overwhelmed that she went to that much trouble. “But wait, you guys can shop at a grocery store? Isn’t that like human territory?” she asked with a questioning look.


“She went to Clem’s store, luv,” Spike replied.


Buffy looked surprised. “Oh, right. Clem’s store…silly me,” she answered hesitantly.


Fifteen minutes later, they were all seated at the dining table. Buffy had a T.V.-dinner lasagna in front of her, and the others had a mug of blood. She put a forkful of lasagna into her mouth, not really knowing what to say. It was weird to see them sitting there drinking mugs of blood, but luckily, they remained in their human visage.


Dawn and Joyce kept looking back and forth between Spike and Buffy, trying to silently decipher what was going on. When Spike’s gaze connected with Dawn’s, she raised her eyebrow in question and moved her head towards Buffy, questioning him through gestures. He rolled his eyes at his little sister, and turned back to focus on Buffy.


He saw she looked uncomfortable, so he reached out underneath the table to grab her free hand. She shot her eyes up and looked at him, but he just ran his thumb over the back of her hand in a comforting gesture. She blushed a little, and avoided looking at Joyce or Dawn. But it didn’t go unnoticed.


“Ok I’m dying to ask. Are you guys a couple?” Joyce questioned with a stern tone. Dawn propped herself up on the table, leaning closer in anticipation.


Buffy looked caught and didn’t know how to answer, especially with the way Joyce asked. She reverted to opening and closing her mouth, starring at Joyce with wide eyes. She knew this Joyce wasn’t her mom, but it still felt like she would be telling her mom that she was going out with Spike.


Still holding hands underneath the table, Buffy turned to Spike with a look that asked for help. Spike gave her hand a squeeze, and looked at his mum, a little suspiciously at her stern tone.


“Maybe we are - what of it?” Spike asked, a bit defensively.


Dawn screeched and Joyce’s lips lifted into a smile. “You better be. I didn’t want to have to hit you with a shovel on the head to get you to stop being stubborn.”


Buffy’s face was one of awe. ‘What the hell? That was so easy! Why are people back home so difficult!?’ she pouted to herself as thoughts ran through her head about the difficulty that was home.


Spike caught her look and asked her, “Is something wrong?”


Buffy slowly realized he was asking her something, trying to shift out of her thoughts. “Huh?” Buffy asked in a daze.


He leaned in a little closer and looked into her eyes. “Something wrong, pet?”


Looking into his eyes and feeling the comforting touch of his hand in hers, with Joyce and Dawn both beaming at them, Buffy finally smiled and replied, “No, there’s nothing wrong.”


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“Do you think the missing page is important?” Willow asked as she scrunched her forehead in thought.

“If it’s torn out, then it’s important,” Anya replied confidently.

Giles exhaled in frustration. This gem thing was getting to be very serious – more than he realized before. He couldn’t help but think there might be some sort of apocalypse, and that thought seriously gave him a throbbing headache. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and turned to Willow to ask, “Willow, can you do any sort of spell to look into this more? Perhaps, a locating spell for the gem…? Or more about who this goddess is supposed to be?”

Willow looked hesistant. “I don’t even know where I would find that sort of thing…” At everyone’s expectant looks, she added, “but I’ll try.”

Changing the subject, Xander asked, “What about Spike and Buffy?”

Willow said, “Yea, shouldn’t we be over there, being supportive, a-and well…supportive?”

“I really don’t think Spike wants us there right now,” Tara said.

Anya thought for a moment, and then turned to punch Xander in the arm.

“Ow!” Xander cried. “What the heck is that for?”

“How come you’re not all cute and protective over me?” Anya demanded.

“What?” Xander asked with a confused look as he rubbed his arm. “You’re not even hurt!”

Anya crossed her arms and gave him a look. “But if I got stabbed, you would be, right?”

Xander gave her a nervous look at the sternness in her eyes. He replied quickly, “Of course, Anya!”

“Would you give me as many orgasms as I wanted?” Anya asked bluntly. The others groaned and turned away from them. They knew her recent lack of sexual references could only be short-lived.

Xander cleared his throat as he avoided looking at the others. “Yes, but can we save it for later?” Xander said in a hushed voice.

Satisfied, Anya replied happily, “Ok, I’m going to hold you to that.”

Everyone thought Anya was done, until she added, “Oh and I bet that’s what Spike and Buffy are doing right now! Multiple times. I’m so jealous!”

“Anya!” Xander exclaimed. “Ewww! Dear god, get the image out of my head!” he cried as he hit the side of his head in dramatics. The others groaned again and Tara blushed.

“What?” Anya asked innocently. “It’s not like we didn’t already know they’ve had sex.”

“What??” Xander asked. “What the heck are you talking about?”

Anya rolled her eyes. “Oh c’mon. The book thing the other day? Where they touched each other’s hands and then dropped the book? They so had sex right before that! I could’ve started a fire with the tension between them!”

The others searched their minds at the memory. It hadn’t been that obvious to them. Buffy and Spike had acted skittish, but sex was not an obvious assumption for them – they were not Anya.

“I-I don’t think we should be t-talking about this,” Tara said uncomfortably. “Spike will tell us what he wants us to know.”

Willow looked at her girlfriend and said, “You’re right, sweety. Let’s all leave it alone, ok?”

Giles nodded gladly and walked away to go behind the counter. Xander muttered in agreement, and Anya crossed her arms and said with a sulky tone, “Fineee. Ruin my fun.”


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Joyce and Dawn had left them alone after that. Buffy finished her last bite of lasagna, and flopped back against the chair. “Ugh, I’m so full,” she said as she put both her hands on her stomach. Spike smiled at her, before getting up and taking the dishes to the kitchen.


He came back into the dining room, and Buffy was already standing up. “How’s your stomach?” Spike asked, coming up to put his hands lightly on both sides of her waist.


“It feels better, except for when I breathe,” Buffy said in a joking voice.


He had a guilty look on his face that made Buffy frown. “What? I’m kidding, Spike. You don’t have to handle me like a China doll. Some say I’m pretty tough, you know – like I may even have the strength of a slayer,” Buffy jibed as she leaned closer into their embrace and picked at the edge of his shirt collar, starring at that spot.


“We should talk, luv,” Spike said in a serious tone. At Buffy’s inquiring look, he added, “There are some things I need you to hear, but not down here. Let’s go upstairs.”



Spike walked behind her up the stairs to his room. After Buffy stepped in, he closed the door behind him. He exhaled and ran his hands through his hair, as she starred at him curiously, waiting for him to speak.


Spike placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing them down lightly and guiding her to sit down on the edge of the bed. He sat in the chair he had brought up last night across from her.


He was making Buffy nervous. Insecurity crept into her. She had finally started accepting this whole thing and even Joyce and Dawn were ok with it too – could he just change his mind right now and go back to casting her away?


“I’m sorry,” Spike said.


“Why?” Buffy asked hesistantly.


“For the way I treated you. For bollocking up the whole sex thing,” he looked up into her eyes with sincere apology. “For not getting to you in time. I’ve been a git, and I’m sorry, Buffy.”


She was amazed, to say the least. Not only were her doubts wrong, but he just apologized for everything, even if it was in his simple wording. What startled her the most was his apology about Dru. He couldn’t be serious, could he? She’s the one that killed Drusilla…


“What? You didn’t stab me, Spike. Drusilla did,” Buffy replied with a confused look.


“I know,” Spike said as he clenched his jaw, “but I should’ve been there. Look at what happened.”


She put her hand on top of his and said, “I’m ok now. I get hurt all the time. Why does this bother you so much?”


He looked deep into her eyes. “Because until that moment, I never realized I could ever be that scared.”


Her heart skipped a beat at his words. This whole day was just unbelievable. Spike had shown her a side of him she had never fully seen before. Now, he was openly bearing his affection and treating her like she was the most important person in the world. She didn’t know how many times she had almost melted today -all she knew was that it felt great, and it felt real.


She suddenly leaped at him and pressed her lips against his in a searing kiss, bringing her arms to wrap around his neck. He was caught off guard at first – that wasn’t the reaction he was expecting, but how could he complain. He pulled her into his lap and eagerly returned the fervor of the kiss. Their lips caressed one another’s eagerly, tongues delving in slightly to tease each other. He heard her moan into his mouth, and he felt his jeans tighten, causing Buffy to react at the movement against her bottom. Their hands roamed all over, but Spike made sure to avoid her wounded area. As Buffy tried to push her body flush against him, she tensed at the pain against her stomach.


He felt her tense, and pulled away from the kiss reluctantly. Knowing that this could really go nowhere with her wounded, he said in a fake annoyed voice, “When do your slayer healing powers kick in already?”


At the look she shot him, he grinned and leaned in to kiss her on the nose, letting her know he was just kidding. He placed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. She sighed contently, before smiling and adding, “Don’t forget the promise you made me in the bathroom.”


“Oh trust me, I didn’t forget,” Spike said with a husky voice. “But if you have any mercy, then you’ll have to get off my lap before I lose all control.”


Buffy pouted as she pulled herself out of his arms and stood up. She crossed her arms and looked to the right at the wall. “Stupid wound.”


Spike chuckled as he stood up in front of her.


A thought came to Buffy that worried her. They were supposed to tell the gang. ‘How will they take it? Is he actually going to tell them? When? Do I still want him to?’ Buffy’s thoughts raced through her.


As if he was reading her mind somehow, he said, “We’ll go tell them tomorrow. Is that ok with you, luv?”


She looked a little stunned that he had read her mind. Then, she faked her reluctance and shrugged, saying, “Eh, I guess so.” But the twinkle in her eyes showed him she was playing and she turned the corners of her mouth into a smile, when she saw him roll his eyes.


“Difficult even when hurt. That’s my girl,” he said in a low voice, wrapping his arms around her.


She bit her lip at the sound of those words. He really needed to stop saying things like that. ‘Heal faster, damn it!’ Buffy yelled to herself.


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Leanna was out in the graveyard, brutally killing a small group of angry humans. She felt the anger course through her body, and she put all of her fury on her opponent. One of the ugly ones charged at her with a knife, and she effortlessly stepped aside, tripping him to the ground and then reached down to snap his neck. “Ugh! Why are you guys so easy?!” she yelled at the rabid-looking enemies. She started pounding on one of the humans, and in between punches, she started to say, “That stupid bitch has a fucking chip and I still can’t kill her!” She punched the guy in the nose, hearing a crunch at the impact.


“Why can’t I kill her yet, you ask? Because I have to stick to the plan,” Leanna mimicked. “And everyone else keeps failing their tasks! God! Amateurs!” She exhaled after she had killed off the last of them. She took a look at the dead bodies and started to walk away, unsatisfied by her success.


“I’m going to make sure it’s painful,” she said with a calculating expression.


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