After the localized temporal disturbance caused by the rare Rwasundi, Spike went back to Warren’s place, only to find out through his mum that he’d left. He snuck into the boy’s room later one night, and swiped something personal of his. Figured Tara could do a locator spell. She did, only there was a block on it.

Clever, rotten bastard Spike thought ruefully.

Tara wasn’t powerful enough to surpass his counter spell. It was just well. The nerdy Troika had been quiet for the past couple of weeks. They managed to make it through Christmas and New Year’s without a peep from them.

But Spike had other things on his mind, of course. A certain slayer’s twenty-first birthday was coming up in a few days. He’d been saving for it for awhile, but he was still forty seven dollars short of his goal. He’d been working a few nights out of the week at the docks. And he’d also been beating the hell out of rich, drunken, college frat boys at pool and poker. It was a nice chunk of change, it was.

“Well, one more game of kickin’ college ass at pool, and Buffy’s gift will be good and ready,” he said to himself as he headed out to the Bronze. Less than an hour and a half later, he was seventy dollars up.

“You cheatin’ son of a bitch,” the college boy said to him in a low voice, his friends looking none too happy as well.

“Hey now. I didn’t cheat. You just aren’t as good as you thought you were,” Spike said with a smirk. To be fair, he’d been playing since before he and his buddies were born, but still. He didn’t have to cheat. Well, at pool anyway. “Nice game, gentleman. Perhaps we’ll have a rematch another time, yea?” Spike said, walking out the back door before waiting for a response.

“Get ‘im!” the sore loser yelled, having followed Spike outside. Spike was about to run out of the alley, but two more of sore loser’s friend’s were blocking the entrance, slowly advancing on him.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered to himself. Spike took one good swing on sore loser, knocking him to his feet, only to fall to his feet as well from the splitting headache behind it. Once he was down, the frat boys didn’t plan on him getting up…

*****

Xander, feeling awfully troubled, headed out to the Bronze for a few drinks. Alone, of course. He needed to think. To ponder. To figure out if this whole marriage thing was really the right thing to do. As he got closer, he saw a group of guys resembling football players surrounding someone, stomping the hell out of the poor guy. Or what he hoped was a guy as opposed to a girl. One of them screamed, and was soon after followed by a painful yell of “Bloody hell!”

“Spike,” he said to himself, heading back to his car…

*****

There were six of them, and Spike couldn’t hit them back without hurting himself even more. But he didn’t want to just lay there and take it either- he had his pride after all. But after that last zap from the sodding chip, he couldn’t take it anymore. He curled himself in a protective ball, and attempted to wait it out.

They have to get tired eventually, right?

He groaned from a repeated kick to his kidney. Suddenly, he heard this loud horn blaring, and there were beams of light filtering in between the blokes who was currently kicking his ass.

“Oh shit. He’s gonna hit us. Run, you guys!” One of them yelled, and they all scampered off as a car drove full force right at them. It came to a screeching halt right before Spike.

“Spike! Come on!” Harris yelled to him.

“Oh great. Xander’s my bloody hero. How the hell am I gonna live that down?” he groused to himself as he slowly got up, limping over to his car. He managed to get himself in, and Xander sped off.

“Sweet, merciful Zeus, Spike. What happened?”

“Beat a bloke out of his dosh and it pissed him off royally. Got his buddies to help kick my,” he paused as he winced in pain. “Ass. Accused me of cheating.”

“Did you? I mean, not that they had the right to beat you up or anything.”

“No. Long as I still got the money…” He gave a triumphant grin, pulling the bills out of his coat pocket with a crooked, bloody grin. “Gotta get the Slayer a present, don’t I?” he said more to himself than Xander.

“Yuh huh,” Xander said slightly pensive, glancing at him with his peripheral. “Say um, Spike. You’re an objective kind of guy. All insightful, usually. Do you think… do you think that me with the, ya know, getting married is such a bright idea?” he asked nervously.

“What is it that you’re lookin’ for?”

“Huh?”

“Do you want me to talk you out of it, or reassure you?” Xander glanced at him at that.

“What I want is for you to be honest with me. I mean… yea, okay. Maybe, no probably definitely, this is weird for me to ask you, but hey, we know each other. And I don’t have any close male friends… Oz is gone, Riley—”

“Good bloody riddance.” Xander continued as if he wasn’t interrupted.

“And Giles… You’re the only one who’s left. And we don’t even like each other too much. Usually. Most times…”

Spike turned to him and looked at him with his one now good eye. The other was rapidly closing shut from the beating.

“All right. I see the way she looks at you, and you’re damn lucky to have her. To have someone love you so much that…” Spike gave a chuckle and shook his head a bit. “Bloody hell, Harris. She stuck around an apocalypse all for you. And we both know how much she hates those.” Xander laughed a bit too.

“Yeah. She did.”

“I know you’re scared, and that’s all right. But Xander, you aren’t your father.” Xander visibly stiffened at that. “I mean it. I lived with you, and your old man was a horrible, bitter, drunken bastard. Still is, I’d wager. Your mum deserved better. But you aren’t him. You could never become that. It just isn’t in your nature. So no worries,” Spike finished, easing back into the passenger seat.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Not being nice. No. Just being honest. What you asked for, innit? Sides, the two of you are bloody perfect for each other.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Spike.” Spike grunted in response, looking out the window.

“Say um, Xander… mind if I ask you a hypothetical question?”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Well. Okay. Suppose I was to ask Buffy out on a date? Now wait before you say anything,” he started, cutting Xander off before he could get a word of opposition out. “This is hypothetical. And I hope you know by now that I care about her very much.”

Xander thought back to that day- that dark day when she… Spike went through a terrible depression shortly after. Dawn managed to snap him out of it, though. But it’d been so eerie to see the usually cocky and self assured vampire so weak and devastated. He had been hurting just as much as the rest of them.

“Yeah…”

“It’s just that… You, and Red, Dawnie and Giles. You’re her family. She values your opinions very much. It’s just, I’m not sure how much of a chance I have with her, um, hypothetically,” he lied. “But I know that I won’t stand a chance if you lot don’t give her the green light.”

“What? Spike, that’s ludicrous. Buffy will do what she wants.”

“Is that right? Come on, you know as much as I do that Buffy tries to protect you all so much that sometimes, she’s willing to sacrifice her own happiness. And I know I can make her happy. But I just need a bit of slack from you.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because, you nit. She’s going to talk to you about it, hypothetically, when I ask her out. Ask you what you think… And if you keep going on about the ‘Spike is evil and bad’ tirade that you’re so fond of, I won’t stand a chance. I’m asking you for a favor.”

“So… what? You’re asking me to help you get into my best friend’s pants?”

“No. Buffy would not be just a role in a hay to me. Stop playing that bloody card. And hey, Buffy and Willow didn’t bitch about you and Anya.”

“What? That’s totally different! Anya’s human.”

“No she isn’t. Well, technically yes, but—”

“What do you mean she’s not?”

“For starters, she asked to become a demon. I never asked to be vamped. She’s lived ten times as long as I have, and did probably ten times, if not more so kills than I did. But did you hear the Slayer and Red complain about it?”

“Well actually, Willow kinda did… What’s your point?”

“My point is she only lost her power center. Other than that, she’s exactly the same as she was when she was a vengeance demon. Only now she’s powerless. But it didn’t stop her from loving you with all that she is, did it?
Didn’t stop her from making sacrifices… And now everyone accepts her. I want that. I want to be able to make Buffy happy. I’d do anything for her,” he said softly. “But none of it matters if there’s a nay sayer among her precious Scoobies. You know that. Just… give her a chance to be happy. And if I’m not the one, then let her discover that on her own. Sound fair?”

Xander sat quietly for a long time, letting it all sink in. Spike finally stopped looking at him, his shoulders slightly slumped in defeat.

“All right, Spike. But if you screw this up... Just remember that I know where you live. Well, un-live.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less,” Spike said quietly, a small smile of success gracing his face.

*****

“So Buffy, excited bout the impending party?” Willow asked while she set up the punch and cups.

“Yeah. Sure. I’m just feeling a bit antsy. In general,” she added quickly.

“Right. And it’s been two whole days since you’ve seen Spike, huh?” Buffy just pouted in response. “Don’t worry. He’ll be here. I know he wouldn’t miss this.”

“I know. It’s just… I’m just curious where he’s been and what he’s been up to the past few days.”

“Buffy…” Willow said in a reprimanding voice.

“What? I can’t be curious all of a sudden?”

“Look, Spike will be here with some spectacular gift I bet. And um… will Tara be here too?”

“She said she would.”

“How did she sound? I mean…” Willow trailed off nervously.

“I told her that you’ve been way better, and she sounded happy to hear it. She’s definitely coming.” Willow gave a smile of relief at that.

“Well. That’s just darn tootin’ good, isn’t? Oh, and… I kinda found out about that thing you wanted me to look into?”

“Ok. Spill it,” Buffy said, sitting on the arm of the couch as Willow stood before her.

“Well, you see, there’s nothing wrong with you, but ... you are different. Shifting you out of ... from um, where you were ... funneling your essence back into your body ... it altered you on a basic molecular level. Probably just enough to confuse the sensors or whatever in Spike's chip. But it's all just surfacey physical stuff. It wouldn't have any more effect than ... a bad sunburn.” Buffy sat with a little frown on her face.

“So, that’s it? I’m still me?”

“Yeah,” Willow said a bit nervously, not sure how her friend would take this, well, good news. Buffy just shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, okay. I… have to go change. There’s an impending party, and guests will be arriving shortly. Gotta go get ready for the guests.”

“Gotta go change and look perdy for Spike, huh?” Willow said nonchalantly as Buffy headed up the stairs.

“Shut, up, Will,” Buffy replied, heading to her room to find the perfect outfit…

*****

“So, do I look okay? It’s been two bloody days, and some of these scars are still here,” Spike said to Clem as they were walking towards the Summers’ home.

“Would you stop being such a worry wart? You look fine. I thought chicks liked the bruised and battered look. Should look mighty sexy to a Slayer.”

“Yea, well… I’m still nervous as hell.”

“What? You mean the—”

“Yea. Haven’t shown them to anyone since… Well, since Angelus, really. So it’s been about a hundred years.”

“Spike— it was so great!” Clem said enthusiastically. “It almost made me cry, really. It was so… so touching and heartfelt.”

“Well, we’ll get the final verdict soon, won’t we?” Spike said as he walked up the back porch steps.

*****

Buffy was in the kitchen, drinking a cup of punch as she waited for guests to arrive. So far, it was only her, Willow, Dawn, a nervous Tara and her friend from work, Justin. She was standing at the kitchen island, wondering if Spike was going to bring her a surprise. For Christmas, he got her some nice lingerie. But when she wore it for him later, well, let’s just say it didn’t last too long. Maybe he didn’t think birthdays were too important.

Hmm… I wonder when his birthday is…

The sound of the kitchen door opening broke her out of her musings. She turned and saw a freshly bruised Spike with his loose skinned demon friend.

“Spike? What happened to you?”
she asked as she went to him, caressing his bruised face gently.

“S’alright, luv. Just a bit of a scuffle. Oh, this is Clem. You’ve met him before.”

“Yeah, I remember. Kitten poker guy. How are ya?”

“I’m fine. Happy birthday Slay- er um, Buffy. Well, um, guess I’ll just go join the party,” he said, sensing the pair had a few things to discuss.

“What happened?” she asked him again, a crinkle in her brow.

“Just as I said love. A little fight, but all’s well in the world now. Listen um, can we have a bit of privacy for a second?” he asked, gesturing outside.

“Of course,” she said. He opened the door and allowed her to lead the way.

“Look, um… I’m a bit nervous, but anyway, here’s your gift.” He said, handing her an envelope before stepping backwards. He leaned against the rail and lit up a cigarette, waiting as patiently as he was capable of for her to open up the envelope. She stood there and just looked at him for a few seconds. His patience wore out.

“Well, would you just open the soddin’ envelope already?” His nervousness bled through in his voice.

“Alright. Jeeze…” She looked down and carefully opening the envelope. There was a folded sheet of parchment paper, and a slip of paper in front of it. She pulled them both out, and saw that the slip of paper was a money order.

“Four hundred and fifty dollars!” she exclaimed.

“Well, yea…” he said uneasily, suddenly not sure it was such a good idea. “Twenty-one dollars for every twenty-one years. Well, plus nine. Figured an even four hundred and fifty sounded better than four hundred forty-one.”

“Four hundred and fifty dollars! Why?”

“Well, figured it’d be nice for you to have a bit of cash to spend on yourself. You know, go to a spa or something. I mean… you don’t like it?” he asked with that head tilt, a squint to his eyes.

“I mean… it’s not that I… I don’t know what to think about… Usually gift are more… Spa?”

“Yea. Spas aren’t cheap, these days. And did you know they expect a tip too? It’d be one helluva bill.”

“Thank, thank you, Spike,” she said, going up to him and giving him a tight hug.

“Sure… You gonna read that?” he
asked, looking anywhere but at her.

“Okay.” She unfolded the heavy paper carefully. It was a poem in the most beautiful cursive she’d ever seen. As she began to read, her heart began to pound furiously.

A light and beauty,
The likes of which I’ve never
Seen.
You cut through the
Darkness
That lay within me.
Unburied a man that
Should have been long dead.
It wasn’t just the chip
Imbedded in my head.
It was you;
Into an abyss I was
Lead,
Dark and thick with a
Love long overdue.
Terrible and wonderful in
Its joy celebrated in rue.
Your eyes say things
I never hear from you.
I long for the day when
To yourself you’ll be true.
But know this, eternal
Keeper of my Heart:
I will love you still.
From you, I’ll never
Part.

Love,

W.J.P.

Buffy felt tears sting at her eyes. She looked up at him as one escaped.

“I know it’s not very good, but I mean, you asked me that one time to show you what I—”

“‘Not very good?’ What are you, insane? It was… it was beautiful. No one’s ever… No one has ever written me a poem, Spike. Or brought me roses, or took me out somewhere that wasn’t at the Bronze or a frat party, or a picnic. No one’s ever looked at me as intensely as you do.”

She kissed him passionately, flinging her arms around his neck. In that moment she knew that she loved him. Loved him for all that he was; loved him for loving every part of her. If only she could tell him…