Merry Christmas to everyone! Here’s my prezzie to all my faithful readers! Enjoy!

As some of you may have noticed, I work a lot with music on this fic. In this chapter, I’m using a song (not the intro one, the one played later in the Bronze) that some of you might claim my head for. I’m well aware that it was released years after BTVS ended, that it’s supposedly a country song (eeeek!), and that the band was probably not even created then either. Well aware! But I was just troubled by that particular line: “Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothin' at all”. It just struck me how it fitted the whole of Buffy and Spike’s destructive relationship during Season Six so perfectly… I just had to include it! Just listen to it while reading the scene, I’m sure you’ll understand…

Chapter Nine – Dancing In The Dark

“I check myself out in the mirror I wanna change my clothes my hair my face
Man I ain't getting nowhere just sitting in a dump like this
There's something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is
[…] Stay on the streets of this town and they'll be carving you up alright
They say you got to stay hungry hey baby I'm just about starving tonight
I'm dying for some action I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to write this book
I need a love reaction come on now baby give me just one look
You can't start a fire, you can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark”
Bruce Springsteen, “Dancing in the Dark”


Buffy was walking awkwardly. Gayle’s body was nearly a foot taller than hers and she was not used to being so tall without a nice pair of heels. Thank god the brunette slayer had chosen to wear snickers tonight…

Why am I doing this? I must be crazier than Drusilla! I actually STOLE my friend’s body to run after a freakin’ vampire that I may or may not even like! I don’t even know where he is right now! Crazy, I tell you!

In a moment of clarity she decided heading for Willy’s bar might be the best bet. If Spike wasn’t there, somebody had to know his whereabouts…

With each step, she felt more confident. This body felt incredible! She could feel the power rush through her veins, and wondered a moment why. Did all tall people feel that way? Or was it because Gayle was tall and a slayer? Or maybe she just felt the girl’s natural self-confidence, she oozed it every single second to anyone who knew her.

Although, through all that, she did feel something strange… a slight discomfort around the shoulders, something between a tightness and a bruise… Probably leftovers from the fight with Caleb. Gayle had landed on her back, maybe the shoulders had gotten most of the shock. Maybe she could treat her to a nice massage at a spa…

If she doesn’t kill me first…

When she arrived at Willy’s, she took a deep breath before entering. She had never been a fan of the place. She felt very much like Little Red Riding Hood about to meet the wolf. As she came closer to the door, her “brave face” firmly on, it swung out and a huge, green demon with a head crowned with horns came out. She braced herself for attack, but the creature just nodded, said “Hi, Gayle” and held the door for her.

Buffy blinked a couple of times. Then she nodded back and put on what she hoped was a typical Gayle smile and went in.

The bar was a mess! Several tables were broken as well as some chair. The floor was covered in broken glass and spilled alcohol. Willy was busy picking up the debris and she noticed he had a black eye.

Willy raised his head as she approached and made a face. “Oh, not you now!”

“Huh? Why not me?”

“If you’re looking for your boyfriend, you missed him by about an hour.”

“My boy…? Spike? He’s so not! Well I hope not… D’you know where he is now?”

“I’m not your damn vamp-sitter!”

“Well, did he say anything while was here?”

“Not much, just beat up a few of my regular, including yours truly”, he indicated his black eye, “for info about a guy named Caleb. Nobody knew who it was, so he left. But one thing’s for sure: that Caleb guy is in for a very painful and messy end…”

You can say that again… and again... “Did he say where he was going?”

“I already told you: I’m not…”

“A damn vamp-sitter, yeah, gotcha.”

“You staying? ‘Cos I got more of that bourbon today…”

“Ewww!”

“What d’ya mean, ‘eww’? You polished off the whole bottle the other night!”

“Err, I meant: yum! Sounds delicious, but I’m in hurry, so rain check?”

Willy nodded. Buffy excused herself and left the bar. A whole bottle of bourbon? But Gayle had shown absolutely no sign of a hangover the next day…

__…-==-…__

Willow and Tara came home hand in hand, their backpacks filled with books. It was so good to be able to do that again! And Willow was getting giddy with the idea that it could be the same in ten, twenty years’ time. “You know”, she ventured, “we should get started on the whole wedding-planning. We haven’t even set a date yet!”

“I meant to tell you about that… I was thinking Beltane or the next Summer Solstice…”

Willow made a face. “So far ahead?”

“I know, but with this new evil in town, we’ll never be ready before winter, and I don’t particularly fancy getting married with a wooly hat for a bridal tiara. Do you?”

“You’ve got a point there…”

“So I’m thinking, we research, move into our new home, kick evil’s butt, celebrate, get a venue and get it on! How’s that?”

Willow came closer to her lover and nuzzled her ear. “I liiike the way you think, baby…”

“Or, we could just go to Vegas and get it over and done with!”

“Not legal yet in Nevada either. I checked…”

“Drats. Oh, well, I guess we’ll have to go through the whole she-bang anyhow…”

The witches entered the house in a fit of giggles. Willow stopped abruptly when she noticed Buffy apparently fast asleep on the couch. Willow gestured silence. While Tara went to wake their friend up, the redhead went to the dining room to unload the books and get the “researching party” ready. She then went to the kitchen to get some munchies ready.

That’s when she noticed something was off. Dawn was at Janice’s to study, but she was due any minute now, and usually Gayle would have gotten a full meal ready for the teenager. Gayle should have been there, swimming in a sea of pots and pans, or already cleaning…

Right on cue, Tara arrived in the kitchen: “Willow, there’s something wrong with Buffy!”

Willow flew to the couch and crouched down beside the sleeper. A large bruise was forming on her cheek…

What the heck? Slayers don’t get marks easily, who did this to her? She held out her hand to shake her awake, but Tara stopped her:

“No! Don’t wake her up!”

“Why not?”

“It’s not Buffy!”

“Come again?”

“It’s not Buffy! I-it’s her body, but it’s not Buffy in it!”

“What? How… why… it’s not Buffy?”

“No, her aura’s all wrong! Normally it’s all gold with bits of silver and lavender, but now it’s white and grayish a-and… so faint I can barely make it out!”

“Faint? She’s dying?” the redhead panicked.

“No! No, she’s not, don’t worry! I said it was faint, not fainting. It’s stable, but clouded, like it’s hiding… but definitely not Buffy’s!”

“Then who?”

“Don’t know… never seen such an aura before. But maybe it’s just because it’s not in its rightful body…”

“Well, whoever it is, we’re getting it out and Buffy back in… there! Wait a sec… if Buffy’s not ‘in there’, where is she?”

“I’ll set up for a locator spell, but I think you’re asking the wrong question, baby.”

“I am? So what’s the right question?”

“If this is Buffy’s body here, then where is she and in whose body? Also, since Buffy’s body is the one lying here unconscious, then Buffy is most likely to have originated the swap…”

“What? No, I can’t believe that, Buffy would not do something so… wrong! She must be out there, in the wrong body, going after the person who did launch the swap… Hey, maybe it’s that Caleb guy! Oh gosh, we’ve got to get her back before she gets killed!” Suddenly Willow remembered her weird feeling from earlier… “Where’s Gayle?”

The front door opened, and Willow expected it to be the dark-haired slayer, but instead Dawn came in.

The teen surveyed the threesome and saw the look on their faces… and her unconscious sister…

“Oh God, what’s happened now?”

__…-==-…__

Buffy was getting seriously annoyed. She had been wandering the streets for nearly an hour, hoping her Slayer senses would allow her to pick up on Spike’s vampire vibe. It kinda worked, just not the way she’d hoped: all she had found were a couple of fledges that dusted too quickly to even work out her frustration.

She was about to give up when she heard the music…

Ooh baby, do you know what that’s worth / ooh Heaven is a place on earth…

… and realized it was coming from her pocket, or rather Gayle’s. She fumbled in it and retrieved a cell phone.

Belinda Carlisle for a ringtone? Corny much? She flipped it open. Incoming call: Willow.

Oh god! Not good not good not good! She selected the option “ignore”. She just wasn’t up to a confrontation just yet… not that she’d ever be for that kind of confrontation. But it gave her an idea. She looked through the memorized numbers, and sure enough, there it was: Spike.

Okay, so I’m the only one who DOESN’T have Spike’s number. She pressed “dial” and put the phone to her ear.

Three tones later: “Yeah?”

“Spike! Oh thank god, you’re okay! I’ve been so worried! Don’t ever do this to me again!”

“Who is this?”

“It’s me, B – Gayle! Chirpy! The cute rock chick you spend way too much time with!” Or at least I thought she was a rock chick until I found out what her ringtone was… totally blackmail material…

“Sorry, pet, din’t recognized you for a minute... Your voice went all shrill, you alrigh’?”

“NO!... I mean, I was worried, hence the shrilling, where are you?”

“At the Bronze, care to join me?”

The Bronze? All this time he was at the Bronze? I’m worried sick and he’s just having a night on the town? “Just… stay there, I’ll be around in a sec!” She clapped the phone shut and almost ran to the club.

She found him at the bar, waiting for her with a sad smile floating on his face.

“Chirpy… we gotta stop meeting like this, pet…”

“You were supposed to meet us at my– Buffy’s house hours ago!”

“I’m not on anyone’s payroll therefore I don’t have to be anywhere I don’t bloody please.”

“I’ve been to Willy’s…”

“Ooh, did he tell you about the bourbon?”

“Yeah, he did, and also about you beating the crap out of his customers!”

“Needed info…”

“Yeah, I got that! Looks like you didn’t get much…”

“Just having a break before I try and get some more…”

“Spike, you’re not going after Caleb alone!”

“You stay out of this, Slayer…”

Buffy flinched for a second. She was pretty sure she had never heard Spike call Gayle ‘slayer’ before. “No, I won’t! He is dangerous, Spike, I won’t let you risk it alone!”

“He killed Dru! He killed the woman that saved me from a life of mediocrity and who was the most precious treasure in my unlife for twelve decades! He’s going to suffer, Chirpy, mark my words!”

Buffy could see how determined he was, but she was just as determined to keep him from making a huge mistake. So she decided to take a different road…

“Spike…” she said softly “…it won’t bring her back.”

Spike squeezed his glass so hard it shattered in his hand. Several shards lodged themselves in his flesh and he started to bleed…

Buffy reacted in a flash. She led him to a darkened table, when back to the bar and asked for a glass of water. She went back to the table, put the glass down and rummaged through her pockets again. She found a delicately laced handkerchief. Sure that Gayle wouldn’t mind, she dipped it in the water and started to dab at Spike’s wounds. He didn’t seem to mind, was not even surprised. Apparently, this wasn’t the first time that Gayle was taking care of him. She felt a pang of jealousy that a near stranger could get so close to him…

She finished by wrapping the cloth around his hand, as a makeshift bandage. They hadn’t exchanged a word the whole time she was playing nurse. She looked at his face: he was just staring at the floor, his mind no doubt filling with memories of his lost Sire… Then the music began…

A soft piano intro to a song she’d heard before on the radio. Not the kind of music usually played at the Bronze. But it gave her a crazy idea. Not the kind that Buffy would usually act upon… but then again, she wasn’t Buffy tonight, was she?

Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor
Reachin' for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore

Buffy rose and held out a hand to the handsome vampire in silent invitation. She wanted to be close to him tonight, in this other body, no questions, no consequences. Just her knowing would be enough… for tonight anyway…

And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

Spike hesitated for a second. This was nowhere near his style of music, and he was not exactly the dancing type. But tonight… Tonight he felt so alone… One dance in the arms of a beautiful woman wouldn’t hurt…

It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now

Buffy smiled softly when he rose and took her hand. She led him to the dance floor and locked her hand behind his neck as she pressed her body against his. She stared into his ocean-deep eyes and let herself drown in them…

And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now

Spike wrapped his arms around the brunette’s waist. She felt warm and soft, and she smelled nice. Of roses and cinnamon and potent slayer blood and… something else he couldn’t quite identify. But he didn’t care. He felt wanted and welcomed in her arms… maybe he could let himself pretend…

Another shot of whiskey can't stop looking at the door
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

Buffy was about the same height as Spike now. She lodged her head in the crook of his shoulder and let herself go, breathing in his scent. She let him lead, wanting nothing more than to lose herself in sensation… sensation that he only seemed to provide…

It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now

Spike craned down slightly to nuzzle her hair. It couldn’t hurt, could it? To be close to someone willing, not someone who would beat the crap out of him and insult him afterwards… It couldn’t hurt…

And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now

They moved slowly, basking in each other’s glow, enjoying the simple feel of the other’s presence.

Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothin' at all

Buffy stiffened at the lyric. It embodied last year relationship with Spike so perfectly it sent a shiver down her spine. She had been feeling so empty and hollow, she had preferred to embark on a journey so dark in her eyes, rather than face reality. A reality in which she had to go on forever fighting.

That’s how it had begun. A walk on the dark side. Like those people who cut themselves. It was about feeling though pain. But then it had developed into something else, something more… something deep. And it had scared her more than any apocalypse she had faced.

It's a quarter after one I'm all alone and I need you now
And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now

She straightened up and looked straight into his eyes. They were half closed but looking back from under luscious lashes. There was tenderness there, but no love. She wanted to see love in those eyes again. She needed to see that love. She needed it now… needed him now…

And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now

Buffy pressed her lips against his. They felt so soft and welcoming. She slid her tongue softly against his bottom lip, begging for entrance, which he granted after only a second’s hesitation. Their tongues then began a passionate dance of their own.

There it was. That feeling that she belonged in that moment, in that kiss, that being anywhere else doing anything else was alien and out of place. That feeling of his body pressed against her, like an armor protecting her from all the violence of the world. That feeling of the last puzzle pieces falling into place.

That feeling of life finally making sense.

Spike had hesitated for a second before kissing her back. He knew it was a dangerous road, but the feel of a hot, gorgeous body against his when he felt so alone was too much to resist. So he gave in. Gayle was kissing him differently than last time. Softer, sweeter… hungrier… more desperate… like Buffy’s kisses…

Buffy!

Spike broke the kiss abruptly. “I’m sorry, pet, I can’t do this…” He then proceeded to leave the club.

Buffy was in shock. What had just happened? Why had he stopped the kiss? Kissing was good, why was he not kissing her right now?

She went after him, managing to catch up with him in the back alley. “What the hell was that?”

“Look, I’m sorry if I ever led you to think we could be more than friends, Gayle, but we won’t!”

“Gayle?...oh yeah, Gayle! Yes, Gayle is me, I’m totally Gayle!”

“… glad you came to this conclusion on your own – how many have you had tonight?”

“What? You think I’m drunk?”

“Aren’t you?”

“No!”

“If you say so, pet… Anyway, go home now, I’m sorry, but I can’t give you what you’re asking of me…” He started to walk away into the night…

Buffy couldn’t let this go now, she had gone too far. She had to make up something, quick. She went back into acting mode and caught up with him. She made him turn around and face her. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I kissed you, I shouldn’t have done that! I just… thought you liked me and –”

“I do like you, Gayle! You’re the closest thing I’ve had to a friend in years! And, lemme tell you, you’re one hot bird too! If the circumstances were different, I’d have jumped in bed with you first chance I got!”

Buffy fought hard to repress a growl, but managed to stay in character. “So why didn’t you?”

“Because… because even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get Buffy out of my head! If we shagged, I couldn’t help but think it would be her in my arms instead of you, and that would not be fair to you and… Are you blushing?”

Buffy’s hands flew to her cheeks. “Err… No?”

“We’ve talked about sex dozens of times, Chirpy, it’s the first time I see you blush! You sure you alrigh’?”

“We have? I mean, we have!” Of course they have, Gayle’s like super open-minded, and they’re both hot, it was bound to come into the conversation sometimes, stop being jealous! “I’m… due my period anytime! Hot flushes!”

“S’plains a lot…”

“Ouch. But back to the topic: if you want m– Buffy so much, why do you always hang out with me? Why do you open up so much to me and not her?”

“She never asks…”

“Argh! You’re infuriating!” she bursted, emphasing her words with a hand gesture.

Spike chuckled at that. “You’ve really been spending too much time with Summers, that’s for sure…”

“What d’ya mean?”

“You’re waving yer lil’ fist in the air just like she does. Except that on her, it’s cute.”

Quick, find something to save it! “Erm… that ‘lil’ fist’ is going to end up in your face… darling!” yeah, ‘darling’, that’s a good typical Gaylism…

“’Darlin’? That’s how you call the girls, usually, innit?”

Dammit! “Yeah, well… that’s because you’re acting like one!”

Spike’s face fell. ‘Score!’ thought Buffy. “You’re becoming as much of a bitch as ‘er, too. Congrats, Masterson, you’re officially a member of the Summers family!” He started to walk away.

Buffy suddenly had what she would qualify as a stroke of genius. She caught up with him and made him turn around again. “Alright, alright… PMS getting to me again, I apologize… Look, I have an idea. You two have obviously some major communication problem going on, so how’s about a little role-play, huh? To try and see if you can actually communicate without things always ending in an argument?”

Spike cocked his head to the side, intrigued.

“Just imagine for one minute that I’m Buffy… what would you tell her?”

Spike was surprised at her idea, but shook his head almost immediately. “It doesn’t matter, she wouldn’t listen…”

“Yes, I woul – look, let’s just pretend, okay? I’m Buffy, I’m Listening Girl, I’m here and I want to hear what you have to tell me and I’ll shut up until you’re done, okay? Ready, aim, fire!”

Spike took a deep breath and looked in the distance. “I would tell her… that I’ve made mistakes. Awful mistakes. That I lost control, like the bloody song said. But I also would tell her that… that I’ve been around a while and…”

Buffy groaned. “And played the field a bit, yeah, real smooth…”

“You said you’d shut up!”

“Sorry! My bad!”

“I swear, you’re as bad as ‘er!”

There’s a perfectly NOT reasonable explanation for that… “I’m sorry, okay? I promise I won’t interrupt anymore! Please carry on? Please?... just… imagine I’m her.”

Spike looked at his friend again. This was typically Chirpy behavior, alright. And he knew she would not let go… So he closed his eyes, and persuaded himself that Buffy was actually here. When he opened them, he looked at Gayle directly in the eyes. He had never noticed how they were the exact same shade of green as Buffy’s…

“Buffy... I've been alive a bit longer than you, and dead a lot longer than that. I've seen things you couldn't imagine, and done things I prefer you didn't. Don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker. I follow my blood... which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of my brain. So I make a lot of mistakes. A lot of wrong bloody calls. A hundred-plus years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of. I'm not asking you for anything. When I say I love you, it's not because I want you, or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are. What you do. How you try. I've seen your kindness, and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you, and I understand, with perfect clarity, exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the One, Buffy. ”

Buffy felt the tears threatening to spill. I don't want to be the One, was what she almost said, what she should have said, what her slayer instincts told her to say. But she couldn’t. ‘Cos she did want to be the One. His One. She couldn’t deny it anymore now: everything in her now screamed that she should be in his arms, that no-one else in the whole world was better suited for her, that she wasn’t better suited for anyone but him…

Throwing caution to the wind, she closed the distance between them and cupped his face. She was about to kiss him again when he violently pushed her away.

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”

Buffy was startled, the shock of rejection made everything that had happened tonight come crashing down on her.

Oh my god… what have I done?

“Spike… I’ve done something really, really wrong…”

Spike’s head tilted. “What’s that, pet?”

She started crying. “It’s me… I’m Buf–”

Her eyes suddenly rolled back and she lost balance. Spike caught her in the nick of time, but her weight made them both topple to the floor.

“Jesus, Chirpy, this goin’ to become a regular thing with you?”

Slowly, the woman in his arms came to. She looked around, seemingly not remembering where she was. Her hand went to her cheek looking for something that wasn’t there. Then she looked up. “S-Spike?”

“Yeah, luv, righ’ here with you.”

She blinked. “…Where is ‘here’?”

“Outside the Bronze, what’s wrong with you?”

“Can’t be the Bronze! I was on the couch, I was talking to Buffy and I…”

She suddenly remembered: the flash of light… opening her eyes to see her own face looming over her…

She felt her blood turn to ice…

“Oh my god… she took… she used… oh dear god…”

“Erm, Chirpy? You’re starting to worry me here…”

Gayle gathered her arms up, hugging herself, and started trembling. She fought back the tears.

“Buffy, she… she stole my body… I don’t know how or why…”

“You mean that wasn’t you I…”

“NO! IT WASN’T!” Gayle’s face had morphed into a mask of rage. She held out her hand in a commanding gesture.

“Gimme your car keys.”

“What for?”

“Make a pie. Just gimme!”

“Alrigh’, alrigh’! Bossy chit… What are you gonna do?” he asked, dropping his keys into her hand.

“Got a slayer to kill.”

Spike stiffened. He knew that tone, she wasn’t joking…

He tried to stop her as she walked away, but was stopped abruptly by a mean kick to his abdomen that sent him crashing into a wall.

“Don’t get in my way, William! You could seriously get hurt!”

__…-==-…__

“She’s coming around! It worked!”

Buffy felt like she had been on a rollercoaster. The ones you find in scary theme parks, that get you upside down more often than not and in the end are not as fun as they look. She struggled to open her eyes. She was lying on the bed of her bedroom. Said bed had been surrounded in candles and there was an herbal scent floating around. Dawn was sitting next to her, and Willow and Tara were standing a few feet back. It was obvious they had been doing magic to get her back in her own body.

“Hey sis, welcome back. Where have you been?”

Buffy looked at her sister, sat up and pulled her in a crushing hug. Dawn was surprised, but feeling her sister’s distress, she hugged her back as tight as she could. Buffy started crying.

“Buffy, what happened?” asked Willow worriedly.

After several minutes, Buffy let go of Dawn, and wiped her eyes. “I… was in Gayle’s body…”

“Gayle took your body?”

“No… I took hers…”

“You did? Why?”

Buffy looked at her friends, and in front of their worried yet caring stares, she talked. Told them all about her feelings for Spike, her doubts, her needs… everything that had led her to tonight’s actions, as well as the events she had gone through while in Gayle’s body.

“Buffy…” started Willow when the petite blonde had finished her tale. “I don’t understand… why didn’t you tell us? We could have helped you through your pain… what made you think that stealing a body was okay?”

“I didn’t think! I just… had the occasion… I feel so bad about this! What did I do? I’m so sorry!”

Dawn chimed in. “It’s Gayle you should apologize to. But knowing her, she’ll forgive you in no time…”

A crashing noise came from downstairs, no doubt the doors being kicked in, seconds before a voice bellowed:

“SUMMERS!”

The girls looked at each other.

“… but I’ve been wrong before” finished Dawn. “I’ll go see her, try and calm her down.”

Dawn went to the landing just as Gayle was coming from the stairs.

“Hey Gayle, what’s up?”

“Not you, the other one” the brunette said curtly and pushed the teen aside.

She went straight for Buffy’s bedroom. Buffy was waiting for her at the door with tears in her eyes.

Gayle roared: “What did you do?”

“Gayle, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to…”

“Didn’t mean to what? Steal my body? Beat me? Use me?”

“Look, you have every right to be mad at me but…”

“I have been nothing but good to you! I have done nothing worth this since I arrived!”

“I know you haven’t, and I swear it will never happen again…”

“Damn right it won’t!”

She lunged at Buffy, grabbing her by the neck and shoulders as the two began to wrestle on the landing, Buffy trying to get free while staying out of harm’s way, and Gayle trying to land a blow anywhere she could.

The other girls could only stare and hope. Willow couldn’t separate them even using magic, she was too scared to hurt either girl. They both had been through so much already tonight…

Gayle managed to get free for a second, but was propelled backwards just as she was about to land a punch.

Spike had appeared behind her so fast, neither slayer had seen him. He held Gayle in a tight shoulder lock as she fought to get free, to no avail.

“I – told – you – to – stay – out – of – my – way - William!” she growled, and threw her head backwards, hoping to head-butt him in the nose. She missed, but the violent and extremely strong movement was enough to make them both lose their balance… From there, everything happened quickly.

Buffy heard a crushing noise.

There was a flash of light.

Spike and Gayle tumbled down the stairs.

Buffy screamed and ran after them.

She found them lying unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. She called the girls to help her and they brought the bodies to the lounge, where they were propped onto the couch for Gayle and the large comfy chair for Spike.

Willow checked for broken bones: there were none. They probably would be in for a good concussion, but their respective vampire and slayer healing would probably take care of that.

Buffy felt awful. She could only stare at her friend and her vampire. I did this, she thought. It’s all my fault…

Dawn sensed her pain. “It’s not your fault… you couldn’t predict this…”

“It is my fault. I don’t know what came over me… I should have realized…”

“Buffy?” Tara interrupted. “I found this on the landing…”

She held out her hand for Buffy to see. In her palm laid several crumbs of green gravel.

Buffy recognized it at once. The body-swapping crystal she had used. She must have dropped it during the fight with Gayle. One of them must have stepped on it and it crumbled. Good, she thought. At least it won’t hurt anyone else now…

“Buffy!” Willow called out, “Gayle’s coming to!”

Buffy went to crouch beside her sister slayer. “Mama? How are you feeling?”

Gayle scrunched her eyes and rubbed her head. Groaning, she spoke in a deep voice with a strong British accent:

“Mmm… what the bloody hell happen’d?”

End of Chapter Nine.

Okay so last chapter got so little reviews, it’s really not encouraging. AT ALL!! I mean, a great thank you to my few reviewers, however it’s just really, Really, REALLY frustrating to see a hundred-odd hits on a story and only two people took the time to give their opinion… makes me think that the rest just stumbled upon my story by accident… I’m sure my fellows fanwriters will understand my point of view. So, PLEASE, people! Make a bloody effort! Even bad reviews are welcome! Yes, really! I’m that desperate!

Oh, and Spike’s (famous) quotes are from the Season Seven episode “Touched”, written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner, though I really wish I’d come up with that speech… I mean, how beautiful was that?!?

The Song: “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum. I just heard it on the radio the other day, and I was just ‘wowed’… I rarely listen to country music or soppy love songs usually, I’m a rock chick at heart, but this one… wow…

If I don’t update by then: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!