The usual Disclaimer: Not my vampires, Joss Whedon’s vampires.
Continued thanks for the continued reviews!
 
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Spike walked out of the hospital into the early evening air, but did not go immediately to find Dawn. Instead, he headed to the public library, which was still open. He sat down at a computer, did some quick searching on the internet, then headed back to Buffy’s house. When he got there, he made a series of phone calls. The conversations were long and complicated, but after two hours or so he hung up, pleased with himself. That’ll be a nice surprise for her. Hope she doesn’t mind.
 
He checked the clock, realized it was nearly ten o’clock, and headed out to find the address Tara had given them. It was quite a distance from Revello Drive, but Spike found it eventually. The house was pleasant looking enough, but had bars on all the bedroom windows. Guess they have a lot of teens coming through here who like to run, he thought. Lights were on in several of the rooms. He quietly crept around the house, using all his senses to find signs of Dawn. He caught a whiff of her scent coming from the back of the house. He saw a light at a bedroom window on the second floor. There were no convenient trees like at Buffy’s house, but he found a helpful trellis that allowed him to get up one corner. He edged along the small overhang under the windows until he reached the one where Dawn’s scent was strongest.
 
He looked in the window. It was a small room, with a twin bed, a chair, and a dresser, and not too much else. Lying on the bed, listlessly flipping through a magazine, was Dawn. “Dawn!” he cried, trying not to make too much noise. He tapped gently on the window. Dawn jumped, startled, then her face burst into a genuine smile as she came over and opened the window.
 
“Spike! Where’ve you been? Why hasn’t anyone come for me? Who was that today? Was it Willow and some spell? Did they fix the bot? What..?”
 
“Slow down, Nibblet,” Spike interrupted. “A lot’s happened in the last couple days that you need to know about. You may want to sit down.”
 
Dawn pulled her chair over to the window. Just then she noticed Spike’s face and gasped. “Spike, what happened? Your face looks awful!”
 
“Thanks, just what every man needs to hear,” Spike replied. “Just listen now, ok? Dawn, Buffy’s alive. That was her you saw today. She’s alive again.”
 
Disbelief and joy fought for first position on Dawn’s face. “How? How is that possible? And if she’s alive what happened to her?” Dawn searched Spike’s face for any sign of a trick. “You’re not making stuff up, are you?”
 
Spike’s voice grew stern. “Dawn, I have never lied to you. I wasn’t lying to you about Buffy being a ghost, and I am not lying to you now. I know you were covering about skipping school before. But I also know you wanted to believe me.”
 
Dawn bit her lip and cast her eyes down. “I did want to believe you, Spike. I… I’m sorry I caused all this trouble. I felt so alone…” Tears threatened to well up in her brown eyes.
 
“’S ok, Nibblet,” Spike said gently. He tried to reach his hand through the bars to comfort her, but he bounced off the barrier. Dawn reached her hand out instead, and he clasped it comfortingly. “Now listen, ok? I’ll give you the whole story from the beginning.”
 
Spike settled into a more comfortable position on the edge of the roof and told her the whole tale. Dawn listened, spellbound, as Spike described the failed resurrection, the ritual and his own injuries, Buffy’s return to her former self, and Willow’s second spell. “Willow made Buffy pass out like that?” Dawn exclaimed, shocked. “Why would she do that?”
 
“I think she was just trying to make Buffy’s pain go away. But as usual, she didn’t think through the consequences, or go crazy and actually ask Buffy if that was what she really wanted. Maybe she’ll think next time.”
 
“So what happens to me now?” Dawn asked.
 
“Dawn, you’re going to have to be patient for a little longer,” Spike explained. “We need to get you back legally and all, or you and your sister will never have any peace. Buffy’s gotta take some parenting classes and some other stuff.”
 
“Are Willow and Tara still going to live with us?” Dawn wondered.
 
“No, Bit,” Spike said. “Buffy asked them to leave. Partly because she’s pissed at them, but also because legally, they can’t live there unless they have gone through background checks and all.”
 
“What about you?” Dawn asked. “What are you going to do now?”
 
Spike wasn’t sure how much Buffy wanted Dawn to know about their relationship, but he felt that honesty was probably a good policy overall. “Dawn, Buffy and I… well, we seem to have become friends. Maybe more than friends.”
 
Dawn nearly squealed. “Yes! You two would be a great couple! But… are you going to live with us?”
 
“Well, that remains to be seen, Nibblet,” Spike said honestly. “I’m gonna have to make myself scarce when the social services folks come around. But I’ve been with your sis since she got back, and she seems to want me to stay.”
 
“Is… is she going to be ok? She really scared me when she passed out,” said Dawn in a small voice.
 
“She’s a bit frazzled, pet. Everything is a bit much for her now. She was in Heaven, where it was all peace and rest. Now she’s back to life and slaying and all that, and it’s really hard for her. Just need to understand that, ok?”
 
Dawn nodded. Spike continued, “They taking care of you ok here, Bit?”
 
“Yeah, it’s ok,” said Dawn, shrugging. “There’s two other girls here – sisters, one my age, one a year or two younger. Their folks were killed in a car crash, and they’re not sure what relative can take them in. We’ve sort of bonded over the whole orphan thing, but they’re even more messed up than me. Mrs. Langely – the foster mother person – she seems alright. Pretty strict about homework and behavior and all that. She’d probably freak if…”
 
“Dawn? Are you talking to someone?” came the voice of Mrs. Langley. Spike ducked out of sight on the ledge as the door opened and a thin woman in her forties came in.
 
Dawn feigned interest in the stars. “I was just stargazing a bit, Mrs. Langely. It… it makes me think of home somehow.”
 
Mrs. Langely softened a bit. “You’ll be back there soon. Ms. Davis called – your sister will be out of the hospital tomorrow.”
 
“Really?” said Dawn, the excitement in her voice totally genuine. “Can I see her tomorrow?”
 
“We’ll see what we can do. You need to go to sleep though – school tomorrow.”
 
“Ok Mrs. Langely,” Dawn responded politely. Mrs. Langely closed the door. Dawn whispered to Spike, “Are you still out there?”
 
“Yes. And you deserve an Oscar for that performance, miss,” Spike said, smirking a bit. “Better let you get some sleep. I’ll see you soon. You behave yourself, you hear?”
 
“Yes, sir,” said Dawn, rolling her eyes. “Night, Spike.”
 
“Sleep tight, Nibblet,” Spike said affectionately. Then he quietly climbed back down from the roof. He did a quick sweep of the cemeteries, dusted a few unfortunate fledglings, then headed back to Revello Drive.
 
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Buffy was discharged at noon the next day, and was grateful to escape. I really, really hate hospitals, she thought as she walked back toward home. They were initially reluctant to let her leave unaccompanied, but when she explained that her friend William was working and no one else really had a car, they let her go. The relief at leaving the hospital was quickly swamped by money worries. Need to look at all those bills. Ms. Davis had stopped in to check on her that morning, and had said she could come at three that afternoon to see Dawn. She also reminded Buffy that she would need to get her financial information together soon. Buffy bit her lip as she walked. How do I do this? What sort of job am I qualified for? Can’t really put ‘Slayer with 6 years experience’ on a resume.
 
She got home and opened the door, calling “Spike? Are you here?”
 
Spike was in the kitchen sipping a mug of blood when she entered. “So they let you escape, did they?” He rose and came over to her. He still felt so gun shy about being too familiar with her. You’re a git, William, he said to himself. But she erased his doubts by stepping into his arms and planting a sweet kiss on his lips. He held her close and kissed her back, reveling in her warmth. “Welcome home, Slayer.”
 
“Did you see Dawn yesterday?” she asked hopefully.
 
“I checked up on her last night,” Spike answered. “Explained the whole long tale to her. She’s being well looked after there. Lady who’s watching her seems strict, but a kindly sort. She can’t wait to see you.”
 
“Glad to hear it. I was afraid she wouldn’t believe you.” Buffy admitted.
 
“I had to do a little convincing,” he said. “But she accepted it all in the end.”
 
“That’s a relief,” Buffy sighed. “Now I just gotta sign up for those parenting classes and figure out this money stuff.”
 
“About that,” said Spike. He led Buffy into the living room and sat down on the couch, pulling Buffy onto his lap. “I’ve got a tale to tell you.”
 
Buffy settled comfortably in his arms, putting her head on his shoulder. “Does this tale have a happy ending?” she asked.
 
Spike smiled. “You’ll have to decide that.” He kissed the top of her head and began, “Back in about 1920 or so, Drusilla and I were in Switzerland. One night we caught an old man coming home late one night and, well…”
 
“Let me guess. You ate him,” Buffy said, frowning. “So far, I’m not particularly happy with this tale.”
 
Spike continued, “Well, you can rest assured that he wasn’t particularly long for the world anyhow. He was definitely ill – you could taste it in his blood. But in any event, we went into his house to sleep the day away. The place was nearly bare, but in his closet we found 100,000 Swiss francs. The man was a complete miser – that was an absolute fortune at the time. Dru and I decided to open one of those infamous Swiss bank accounts with it. Save for a rainy day, we thought. But we never actually ended up going back for it. We roamed the globe, doing this, that and the other, but we sort of forgot about it. I found the number of the bank account when we went back to my crypt the other day. Called the bank yesterday, and apparently, the account is still there. And due to the principle of compound interest, it’s worth quite a lot after 80 years.”
 
Buffy was stunned. “But… you don’t mean to…”
 
Spike smiled and nodded. “If you look at your bank account, you’ll find the number a little higher than when you looked last. I spent this morning paying off your bills and your mortgage. Even after you pay taxes on it, you’ll still have enough to keep you going at least until Dawn gets out of high school. Invest it well, and might last even longer, or help with college or whatever.”
 
Buffy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Tears of joy started falling down her cheeks as she threw her arms around Spike and cried, “Oh Spike! It’s too much! How can I ever thank you?” She kissed him again, long and deep.
 
“You already have thanked me, Buffy,” Spike said tenderly. “You’ve let me into your life. ‘S all I ever wanted.”
 
Buffy couldn’t find the words to express the relief, the gratitude she felt. “I don’t deserve all this from you,” she whispered.
 
“Guess you’ll just have to live with that,” Spike grinned. He kissed her again, running his hands through her hair and down her back. Their kisses rapidly turned into groping and panting. They made quick work of each other’s clothes and Buffy lay down, welcoming Spike with her eyes. Spike took her in one hard stroke, making them both groan in concert. Their lovemaking was wild this time as they clawed and pounded at each other. Buffy felt the orgasm building like a tidal wave, and she realized finally that this was what she wanted. This man, who cared for her like no other had .This man who wouldn’t leave her, wouldn’t lie to her, would protect her with his very life. As the wave crested she cried out, “Oh God, Spike, I love you!”
 
At those words, which he never expected to hear from her lips, Spike fell over the edge too, screaming her name as he came.
 
TBC