A/N: Just to clear up some confusion, I'm moving *backwards* in reverse chronological order from "Intervention," to "Blood Ties," and then "Checkpoint."

Covert Sincerity



“Dawn! Dawn!” Buffy yelled out into the night.

“Yeah, that should do it,” Spike said with subtle sarcasm.

“Shut up.”

“The nibblet scampered off to get away from you. She hears you bellowing, she’s gonna pack it in the opposite direction.” They both stop walking as Spike looks around. “Can’t say I blame her.”

“You were right,” Buffy said quietly, staring at the ground. Surprise was written all over Spike’s face at the admission. “This is my fault. I should’ve told her.” Spike sighed at that, feeling guilty for god knows why. He just knew that he had to comfort her somehow.

“Look, she probably would have skipped off anyway, even if she never found out. She’s not just a blob of energy, she’s also a fourteen year old hormone bomb.” He paused again, exhaling another sigh. “Which one’s screwing her up more right now, spin the bloody wheel. You’ll find her, just in the nick of time. That’s what you hero types do,” he finished with a shrug. Buffy gave him a hopeful look, wanting to believe him.

“You’ll find her,” he reiterated firmly.

“And then what?” she asked quietly. Spike was silent for a moment, mulling over his answer.

“And then… and then you say—” He placed his hands on her shoulders, gripping them with a firm gentleness. “Hey now— chin up, yea? Everything will be okay. No matter what you are, I still love you. I’ll always love you. Nothing’s changed.” His voice gradually lowered and became thick with emotion as he went on. He slowly embraced her in a hug, and she folded into his arms.

“We’ll make it through this,” he continued softly. “I’ll be right here, right beside you.” He secretly inhaled her delicate scent of lilacs and vanilla. He collected himself, and pulled away before she noticed something.

“See? Easy.” He cringed inwardly at the slight tremble in his voice. Buffy tilted her head to the side, looking down at the ground, though he was fairly certain she wasn’t seeing it.

“Wow. You should be a writer or something,” she said reflectively. Spike bit his tongue at that.

“Just be honest, love. Tell it from your ticker, and so forth.”

“Yeah. I suppose I could. It’s true after all.” She continued to walk, still contemplating what she would say to placate her little sister.

“Bloody well is true,” he mumbled to himself before catching back up to her. He walked on her right side, being her silent pillar of strength.

*****

A Core of Mush


Spike, Joyce and Dawn turned simultaneously from the telly as his crypt door opened.

“That didn’t take too long,” Spike said, looking at her.

“How’d it go, sweetie?” Buffy sighed as she looked at her mom, closing the door.

“A little nerve wracking…” She paused, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Glory was a god. “But, I managed to get the Council to agree to my terms, and Giles reinstated as my Watcher.”

“Retroactively?” Spike asked.

“Of course.”

“Good goin’, Slayer.” Buffy walked towards the sarcophagus, motioning Spike to follow her as her mom and Dawn began to pack up their things.

“Here,” she said, handing him a couple of bills.

“Keep your money. It was my pleasure to play host to the Summers ladies. My door’s always open. Of course, if it wasn’t, they always have you to kick it down, don’t they?” he said with an arch of his eyebrow. Buffy looked sheepish at that. She avoided looking at him for a second as she put the money back in her pocket. Spike took pity on her.

“If you feel really bad about it, next time, just bring me some alcohol, or some of those spicy buffalo wings that I like so much, or something equally delicious,” he said, sotto voce, slightly leaning in.

“Spike you’re such a—”

“Pig. Yeah, I know. Not like you expected anything more of me, right?” he said with a casual shrug. Buffy’s upper lip quirked slightly upward, but she suppressed the smile that was threatening to show itself. She turned, and headed back towards her family.

“Ready guys?”

“Yeah. Spike and mom were boring me to tears, and he doesn’t have any cable.” Dawn hefted her bag on her shoulder, standing by the door impatiently. “And, I didn’t realize how much of a softy he was,” she said with an impish grin, looking at him.

“Oi! Big bad over—”

“Whatever. All you did was talk to mom about soaps, the art gallery and how much you were craving her hot cocoa. Way lame,” she sing songed.

“Okay, Bit. My hospitality has officially run out. Time for you lot to bugger off.” He stalked over to the door, holding it open.

“Aww… Dawn’s ruined Spike’s manly pride. Come on, mom. Let’s let him wallow.” Buffy walked to the doorway, all the while grinning at the only slightly irritated vamp.

“Ignore the girls, Spike. Thank you for having us. Come over any time for that cocoa,” Joyce said with a smile before stepping over the threshold into the night, followed by Dawn and then Buffy. Buffy stopped once she was one foot out of the crypt and turned to face him.

“Spike, um… I just wanted, wanted to say—”

“ ‘Thank you?’” he supplied for her. She nodded gratefully.

“Yes. Thank you.” With that, she turned and left. Spike stood by the door, watching as the Summers’ women made their way through the cemetery, closing his door softly once they were out of sight.

“Big, soft gooey center,” Spike mumbled with disdain. “How’s that for you? Whipped without getting any.” Spike headed to his counter to get a drink, thinking of what to get the Slayer for her birthday.