A/N: And I'm back, with a new chapter! Anyone still reading? ;D

Beta'd by the brilliant Luxferi, I can't thank you enough sweetie!

Here we go:



* * *



”I’m a vampire Slayer.”

”Honey, what are you talking about-” Joyce said, confused.

”I’m a vampire Slayer.”

”A what?”

”Mom, please. You know this. I told you. Remember two years ago?”

”Honey, please don’t start with this again. Remember what Doctor Robinson said? Under pressure we can all paint a brighter picture of ourselves, but there’s no need to make things up. I know that being a teenager is hard sometimes but-”

”I’m not making things up!” Buffy exclaimed frustrated. It was evident that her mother didn’t believe her, but the psych-talk? Buffy shuddered. Joyce looked at her with a pitiful expression that made Buffy want to heave. ”Can we go inside, please?”

”Sure, hun.”

Joyce, in her pink robe and matching slippers, opened the kitchen door and went in into the house. Buffy was about to follow, but stopped when she realized Spike wasn’t coming with them. She looked at him expectantly where he was standing, still on the porch. He seemed… uncertain. His hands were deep in his pockets, his head bowed down and he was studying his feet.

”Are you coming?”

”Um... ” He looked at her, suddenly nervous. ”I didn’t-”

”Get in here.”

That was all the invitation he needed, and the invisible barrier, that would have kept him outside, disappeared. Buffy held the door open for him as he entered the kitchen.

”Would you like something?” Joyce inquired their guest, like he was just a normal friend of Buffy’s, and it wasn’t three o´clock in the morning. ”Coffee, hot cocoa?”

”Some cocoa would be nice.”

”Sure. Buffy?”

”I’m fine. Can we just talk about this now?”

Joyce smiled and picked a mug out of the cabinet and started to prepare Spike’s cocoa.

”I’m not sure what to say Buffy, if you feel that… if you need to talk to someone about this, maybe I should call one of your doctors-”

”Mom, I’m not crazy. Okay? I’m not. It’s just… Open your eyes, what do you think has been going on the last two years? The fights, the weird occurrences? And what about Giles? Don’t you think it’s odd that an adult man hangs out with a bunch of teenagers? He’s my Watcher mom, he trains me.”

”Honey, I understand that you’re confused and that things are hard on you right now.” Joyce smiled warmly at her. ”Why don’t you go to bed, and I’ll call doctor Robinson first thing in the morning?”

”I’m not going to bed, I’m not crazy! And I will definitely not talk to any doctors!”

Buffy was getting exasperated. She closed her eyes for a moment and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had expected her mother to yell and scream like the last time she’d told her, not be completely in denial. Buffy sighed and ran her hand through her hair trying to gather her thoughts and come up with the best way to explain.

”There are monsters out there. Demons. Vampires. I was chosen to stop them. It’s fate. Nothing I can change, it’s just how it is.”

”Monsters? Oh Lord. Buffy, when we took you out of St. Martha’s I thought things were better… maybe I shouldn’t have-” Joyce held the ready cup of cocoa thoughtfully in her hand for a few seconds before putting it down on the table next to Spike. ”I was just so keen to get my daughter home, I didn’t want you to be in that place.”

”I know. And I don’t want to be there either. That’s why I’m going to prove it to you. I’m telling the truth. Show her, Spike.”

”Uh…” All the attention was suddenly focused on Spike, who had up until now watched the conversation, in silence, sipping his drink.

Buffy grabbed his arm, which resulted in an objecting ”Oi!” from the vampire. ”Feel this. Feel it.” Joyce reached tentatively out to touch his arm. ”No pulse. He’s dead.”

”I’m sure that he-”

”Spike is a vampire.”

”Honey, that’s ridiculous.”

”No. No it’s not. He’s just like the creatures I go out to slay every night. He’s one of those creatures, without souls that terrorizes humans, kill them without remorse. That’s what he is.”

”I’m sure William is no such thing.” Joyce smiled warmly at her daughter but the distress was clear in her eyes. Buffy could tell her mother didn’t believe a word she’d said.

”I am.” Spike shrugged.

”And I’m the Slayer. I’m stronger than normal people, faster. That’s why I have to fight them. It’s my destiny.”

”Honey, I’m so sorry,” Joyce said almost patronizingly and it was obvious to Buffy she still didn’t believe her. ”I had no idea things had gone this far, I should have-”

”Show her, Spike.”

Spike didn’t need for her to explain any further. He gave her a questioning look as to ask her if she was sure, but Buffy nodded. Joyce looked from Slayer to vampire, obviously confused.

Spike shrugged and switched into game face. Upon seeing the ridges form in his forehead, his teeth lengthened and his eyes turned gold, Joyce gasped. The vision would have been utterly horrifying if Spike hadn’t had a milk moustache from his hot cocoa. His long tongue came out to lick it off. He looked pleased. Joyce stared at him horrified.

”That is some good cocoa. But you know what would make it even better; those small marshmallows? You wouldn’t perhaps have any of those?”

”Hmm? Oh, sure.” Joyce stared at him blankly but turned around and searched the cabinet. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. ”I… I think I need a drink.”

Joyce handed Spike, still in game face, the bag of marshmallows and headed into the living room and to the liquor cabinet.

Buffy and Spike were left alone in the kitchen. Buffy sighed and sat down on one of the stools. The same stool she had sat on just a short while ago when she’d found out about Jenny’s murder. There was simply no time to rest. Buffy knew she hadn’t picked the best time to drop the news on her mother, but it had to be done, and with Spike at her side, it had felt much easier.

The vampire in question was busy stuffing as many marshmallows as he could into his cup of cocoa. He wore an irritated expression as the top of his marshmallow mountain ended up on the table when he raised the cup to his lips.

”Think she’ll live through this? Didn’t want to scare the lady,” Spike mumbled and saw how Buffy raised her eyebrows in doubt. ”I didn’t!”

”She’ll deal. Hopefully.”

Joyce came back into the kitchen with a glass and a bottle of brandy. She poured herself a glass of the amber liquid and drained it in one shot.

Buffy looked at her mother a bit uncertain. She wasn’t used to her mother drinking. In fact, Buffy couldn’t remember her mother drinking since the divorce, when she had had a glass almost every night, and that was two years ago.

”Have you tried not being a slayer?” Joyce asked as she put the glass down.

”It doesn’t work that way. I was chosen. The only way to get a new slayer is if the old one dies.”

”Dies? Buffy, I don’t understand this…!” Joyce shook her head slightly and poured herself another glass of brandy.

”Mom, I fight demons. As in big, yucky, strong, slimey things that want to kill me and the entire human population. People die in my line of work, it’s how it is.”

”But you said he was a…” Joyce asked warily, nodding at Spike.

”Spike is… It’s complicated.”

It took another twenty minutes before Joyce Summers had a slight idea of what being a Slayer meant. During those twenty minutes Buffy thought she was going to die of frustration as she basically was repeating the same thing over and over again. Spike stood mostly quiet at the side watching the conversation between mother and daughter. He felt useless but he didn’t know how much it meant for Buffy that he was there.

Finally, Joyce decided to go to bed, and was too tired, and maybe too drunk to stop her daughter from going out on patrol. She just nodded and went up the stairs to her bedroom when Buffy and the vampire headed out again.

Spike was standing on the porch lighting up a new cig when he noticed that Buffy had stopped in the doorway.

”Wait,” she said, before she spun around and headed back into the house.

Spike did as told but felt awkward. What was this, a date? He didn’t need to wait for anyone, he had his plans: to steal a bottle of JD and get pissed again. Dawn was steadily approaching and he didn’t want to be sober when he got back to Dru. She would without a doubt sense he’d seen the Slayer, and although he didn’t much care now that he’d found her with Angelus, he preferred to be drunk for that confrontation.

When Buffy came back, she was holding something that Spike couldn’t make out what it was and she looked puzzled. She gave him what was in her hands.

”Here.”

His t-shirt. It must have been the same one he wore a couple of days ago, the one he left in that locker room. She had taken it?

Buffy became nervous. Why didn’t he say something?

”It’s washed. I… I think the stains are gone. Mom’s good at that, getting stains out. You just left it, so I didn’t know…I thought you might want it back…”

Spike took the neatly folded t-shirt. He cleared his throat.

”Thanks,” he answered hoarsely.

”You’re... you know, welcome.”

They walked out of her backyard in silence and back on Revello Drive they stopped in the middle of the street.

”So uhm… where are you headed?” Buffy asked nervously.

”Dunno. The sun will be up soon. Thought I’d stop at Willy’s to get another drink. What about you, pet?”

”Patrol, I guess.”

”That’s when you stalk the cemeteries for baddies, right?”

”Yeah.”

”Looking for Angelus?”

”I got to try.”

They stood in silence for a short while. Spike fidgeted with the folded t-shirt in his hand and Buffy watched hypnotized how his fingers moved over the fabric.

”So…” Buffy began, but she wasn’t sure what to say.

”I’d best be leaving then.”

Before Spike had the chance to do just that, Buffy asked quickly, almost anxiously, ”Wanna come?”

”On patrol? Nah, don’t think so. People can think I’m a white hat.”

”Yeah… of course.”

”The demons, I mean.”

Both turned to leave, but they immediately realized they were going in the same direction, when they almost bumped into each other. They stopped. Buffy gave him an apologetic smile, and glanced at him sheepishly.

Spike cleared his throat. ”Guess, I could tag along if you’re going the same way.”

”That’s cool.”

Buffy felt relieved. She could use some company. Meeting Angelus again wasn’t something she looked forward to. Somehow meeting him had been like seeing a ghost. He looked the same as Angel, sounded the same, but there was something very creepy about him. The way he leered like he knew all of her secrets, how he laughed at her. That he was an evil might explain the spooky vibe, but it wasn’t enough. She felt uneasy just by the thought of him.

They started walking again, this time side by side, and the silence between them wasn’t as awkward.

”Your mum seems like a nice woman,” Spike said suddenly.

Buffy arched her eyebrows questioningly. She let out a small laugh.

”You like my mother?”

”Yeah. Nice lady. Who wouldn’t be thrown off after finding out what she just did? She’s strong.”

”Yeah, at least that makes one of us.” Buffy sighed. They had now reached the nearest cemetery and Spike followed her when she entered the gates. ”It feels like I’ve spent the entire day crying, I’m all headachy. I swear, my head is going to explode any second now.” She whined and rubbed her temples.

”Just keep the brain off my duster, eh?”

”Don’t think so mister!” Buffy said playfully. ”It’s gonna splatter all over you!”

Spike was just about to retort when a scaly demon showed up out of nowhere, attacked the Slayer and made her tumble to the ground.

”Can’t you tell when someone’s having a private conversation?!” Buff asked the demon, upset. It growled in response.

Spike took a couple of steps back, to give the Slayer and her threat of the moment, some space. He leaned against a mausoleum, took a drag of his cigarette and watched the fight in front of him. The demon roared.

”You know, there’s this thing called English. You should try it out!” Buffy said cheerily as she quickly got up from the ground.

She started to pummel the large brown demon immediately. Her small fists shot punch after punch into the chest of the hideous creature but it seemed to do no good. With one swing of its arm the demon sent Buffy flying across the grass and into a tree. Buffy groaned, got up from the ground, shook off the dirt and when the demon came close enough, she was ready and kicked it hard in the crotch. *That usually does it* she thought.

Spike watched, amused how the small Slayer tried to take on this large and stinky beast. Its movements were anything but graceful, and it made Buffy look even more nimble. Kick after kick, punch after punch, she fought with everything she had. When Spike didn’t watch her slim body stretch in delicious ways, his eyes traveled to her face and her expression - the annoyance mixed with determination and pleasure – and it made him smile. This Slayer may complain about her calling, but Spike could tell she was made for fighting.

Buffy had finally managed to get a grip round the demon’s neck, she was clinging to its back and with a cracking sound she twisted its neck. She jumped down to the ground and the now dead demon fell flat on its stomach.

Buffy wiped her hands on her already dirty pants. She looked at Spike with a satisfied grin.

”You fight like a girl,” he said.

”I am a girl.”

”You’re a woman, luv. Shouldn’t be fighting like a girl.”

Buffy couldn’t help but smile. He thought she was a woman? *He thinks you’re a woman!* Buffy wanted to squeal in delight, but suppressed those urges and grinned sheepishly instead.

Spike continued, ”Your left is weak and your blockings are lousy.”

This drew Buffy out of her happy thoughts. Did he just first compliment her and then call her a bad fighter?! That was just so typical of Spike! Why couldn’t he just stick with ’you’re a woman’?

”No they’re not! There’s nothing wrong with my left or my right or-or up or down - I’m… good.”

”Didn’t say you were bad, said you fight like a girl. You’re tiring yourself, luv. Unnecessarily. Could have taken out that wanker in a heartbeat.”

Buffy pouted. ”Maybe I felt like fighting.”

”You sure did.” Spike chuckled.

They continued to walk through the cemetery, mostly in silence. Buffy glanced at Spike from time to time, but he seemed to be lost in thought. She didn’t mind the silence, she had a lot to think about, herself. Having company on patrol lead to thoughts about Angel which only lead to thoughts about Angelus and Jenny. Buffy decided to stop that train of thought. *Spike thinks you’re a woman, concentrate on that.*

After taking the shortcut through one of Sunnydale’s twelve cemeteries they had reached the bad part of town and Willy’s bar.

”Didn’t I tell you those could kill you?” Buffy asked when they had stopped, and pointed at the cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. Spike raised a scarred eyebrow.

”Didn’t I tell you I’m already dead?”

”Yeah, well, you’re going to kill me while you’re at it…”

”Who said I didn’t want to kill you?”

”Who said he cared about me? Last I checked that didn’t involve killing.”

Spike chuckled, but he dropped the cigarette to the ground and put it out with his foot.

”Don’t get any ideas,” he warned her. ”It’s just for tonight, I’m not quitting my smokes. And what does it matter anyway, we’re here.”

Spike nodded, indicating the demon bar across the street from where they were standing. Buffy turned around and spotted it too.

”Oh. So you’re… going?”

*Of course he’s going, did you think he’d patrol with you the rest of the night?! Stupid…* Buffy cursed inwardly.

”Yeah. I could probably scare Willy into giving me a couple of free drinks. What a wanker…”

Buffy was about to protest, when she realized how many times she had threatened Willy to get information. If stealing from Willy’s bar was Spike’s evil ways, she’d let him be. She laughed softly.

”I better go,” she said, trying to sound casual. ”Should finish patrol before it’s actually morning time…”

”Um, good luck with that.”

Silence.

Buffy looked at him, expecting him to walk away. Their eyes met for a second and she quickly averted her gaze. This was getting awkward. Since when was she nervous around Spike?

Spike could literally hear Buffy’s heart pounding and how the rate increased. It made him nervous. Spike wasn’t usually nervous, but being around a nervous Buffy in this case seemed to be contagious.

Buffy decided to take action. “I’ll... see you around!” And she spun around and left.

Spike nodded to himself and watched her hurry out of his sight.







A/N: Please let me know what you think. Feedback, good or bad, is always appreciated. ~Nina