Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.


The next time Buffy woke, it was because someone had dropped a kiss on her nose. Spike was leaning over her, a hand on each side of her head. As her eyes fluttered open, he bent down and caught her lips in a deep kiss.

With an arm around Spike’s shoulders and a hand in his hair, Buffy held him to her as long as she could. Finally, gasping for air, she pulled away from him. “Is that coffee I smell?” Buffy asked, as she caught her breath.

“Hmm,” Spike mumbled, as he kissed her shoulder. “Thought you could use some food.”

“I’m not complaining. It’s nice to wake up to breakfast in bed.” With the hand in his hair, she pulled him up. “I love you,” Buffy told him, before pulling him in for a soft kiss.

“Love you too, so much.” Spike leaned down and kissed Buffy with passion, pulling back only when he heard her stomach growl. “Better get you fed,” he said with a smile. With a light peck on her lips, Spike sat up and reached for the tray he had placed on the floor.

Buffy moved over to give Spike some room to sit beside her, leaning back against the headboard.

He gently placed the tray on Buffy’s lap, where she held it in place as Spike started to carefully crawl under the covers with her.

“God, he’s so sexy...and all mine.” The Light’s eyes darkened with desire.

Spike stopped in the middle of climbing into the bed, tilting his head and watching Buffy intently. “That’s right, Luv...and you’re mine.”

His hand shot out to steady the tray when she jumped in surprise. “What was that?”

“I think we’re already starting to see some of the effects of the claim,” Spike said with a smirk, continuing his crawl until he was seated beside Buffy.

“Do you know what it means? That we have this power so soon, I mean?” Buffy asked as she smeared strawberry jam on her toast.

“No.” He watched her take a bite out of her bread. “Does it have anything to do with the Powers meddling in our lives again?”

“Nope. It’s a side-effect of the claim, and it means that our love is strong.” They smiled at each other, awe in their eyes, and then leaned in to share a quick kiss.

“Eat up, Luv. You’re going to need to keep up your strength,” Spike said with a leer.

“Pour me some coffee?” Blushing, Buffy held out her cup. “And stop teasing me!”

Spike laughed, and did as she requested. The couple continued joking, teasing, and laughing through breakfast. As they happily squabbled over the last of the coffee, they were interrupted by a tinny melody.

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

“My phone! It’s in my dressing room.” She grabbed the tray on her lap.

“Stay. I’ll grab it for you.” Since the phone kept on ringing, it was easy for Spike to find it and toss it to her on his way back to their nice, warm bed.

“Yes? Buffy here.” Listening for a while, she ended the call with a quick, “I’ll call you back.” Keeping the phone in her hand, she turned to Spike and twisted an arm around his waist, holding him close.

Worried, he pulled her snugly against his side, with an arm around her shoulders, and then cupped her cheek and raised her head. “What was that about?”

“They’re up to their old tricks,” she almost whispered.

Frowning, he asked, “Who?”

“The Scoobies. My so-called friends.” Buffy snuggled into Spike. “Angel, Willow, and Xander. Merrick said they were at the Bronze until it closed, and then they started trying to find us by searching with magic. This is how it always starts. They claim they’re trying to protect me, for my own good.”

Spike moved the tray off the bed and pulled her into his arms, comforting her as she began to cry.

He continued to hold his troubled mate after she stopped crying, letting her tears dry on his chest. Eventually, she stirred and looked up at him. “Thank you. For being here, and being you, and knowing that I just needed to be held,” she said, caressing his cheek with one hand.

He leaned affectionately into her soft touch, kissing her palm. They rested against each other, foreheads touching. “I think I mentioned, that was Merrick on the phone. He had an early morning call from Giles, asking if I was okay. Merrick told me that he’d come back late last night, after spending some time reassuring my mom I’d be fine with you.” Buffy smiled a little bashfully, her cheeks flushing. She lay down on the bed, and pulled her mate down with her, hiding her face in his throat.

“Merrick said he saw what he called a ‘light show’, and felt a protective shield around the house, so he guessed what we were doing. He said he was on his way back to Mom’s when he received a message from the Powers, telling him that the Prophecy had been fulfilled.” She sighed and cuddled into his embrace.

“How does he get messages from the Powers?” The arm under her head played with her hair, while the other ran over her back.

“Didn’t ask, but I remember him telling me that anyone can get a message from the Powers if it’s important enough. We’re getting off-topic though, and we have to stay on track and deal with this. Giles knows I can’t be controlled by her magic, but he’s worried about Willow...especially after Lorne’s warning. I think he’s right to be. We need to do something about her.”

“Why us? Why not let the Watcher take care of things? It’s our honeymoon.” Spike’s pout was lethal.

“Cute,” Buffy said, as she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth.

“Hey! I’m not cute!”

A laugh erupted from deep within her. “Sorry.” Buffy dried her eyes. “You just looked so offended. It was funny.” With her right leg over his hip, she pulled him closer. Kisses were shared. Buffy pulled back a bit. “We have to talk. Before we go any further, and get distracted, and forget what we were talking about.”

Gasping for breath he didn’t need, Spike lay his head back on the bed and nodded.

“Unfortunately, handling Willow is in our job description.”

“Huh?” Pulling back, Spike’s attention was completely on Buffy.

“It’s part of being the Judges on Earth. It’s like this...When Giles called Merrick and asked him to tell me about his concerns about Willow, he indirectly sought help from the Judges. And, since that’s us, we have to decide what to do with her now. I vote that we bind her powers. She’s hurt me so much in the past, and I’m scared that she’ll find a way to do it again, either by finding a way around my protection spells, or by going after you instead. I don’t know what I’d do if that happened.”

Spike stroked Buffy’s hair, all the while mumbling comforting words. Holding her close, he let Buffy just cry out her pain. When she calmed down, Spike tipped her head up with a couple of fingers under her chin. “Magic is a part of the person who has it. If you take it away, it’s like losing an arm or a leg.”

Buffy closed her eyes, tears starting to fall again.

“Hey now, none of that. I have an idea. How about we bind her powers and get her a teacher, so that she learns to use them responsibly? To use them for good?”

“The last time I went through this, we didn’t bind her powers, but she went to England with Giles and learned to control herself. She still came home and misused her powers though. I don’t know what to do.” Buffy shook her head, nudging Spike’s jaw up and snuggling up to his throat.

Almost an hour went by before Spike spoke again. “I wonder if there’s a way to place a spell on her that she can’t remove herself. Maybe something that would automatically bind her powers if she uses her magic to hurt people or do something bad?

“Bad or hurt?” Buffy looked at him, arching a brow. “That would depend on the perspective of the person doing the spell, wouldn’t it?” Buffy kept looking at Spike, as she began to rub her hot core against his erection.

“Good point,” he agreed, tongue behind his teeth, leering.

“What about binding her powers and linking them to one or two other people?” Buffy stopped moving and looked thoughtful for a moment. “That way, she’d have to get their approval before she could use her powers. What do you think?”

Spike thrust up once, before responding, “If we toss in some teaching, and really put some thought into who get the job of holding Red’s leash, it could work.”

“I promise we’ll work together to find the right people for the job. Oh...one more thing.” Buffy stopped moving again, and this time Spike growled. Buffy couldn’t look him in the eye, and began to watch as her fingers delicately traced his collar bones. “I told you that when Merrick couldn’t get into the warehouse, he went back to Mom’s. He...um...Merrick had to explain to her why he was back on her doorstep. He kind of told her that we completed the bonding last night, so now she wants to meet her son-in-law.” Blushing heavily, Buffy closed her eyes.

“Did he give her any details?”

“What?” Buffy’s horrified gaze flew up to meet his, and it took a moment for her to see the mischief in his eyes. “Eww,” Buffy exclaimed, slapping Spike’s chest when she saw his smirk. “I thought maybe we could invite Mom, Merrick, and Giles over for dinner tonight?” Suddenly, she looked shy and fragile.

“Why not? Doesn’t mean we have to get up now though, does it?” Spike caught Buffy’s lips, gently nibbling at them.

“Mmmm...Nope. We’ve still got a couple of hours,” Buffy agreed, as she surrendered to Spike’s gifted hands and mouth.

Spike and Buffy eventually made it out of bed and into the shower. As it turned out though, the shower just presented the couple with several new ways to get dirty. It wasn’t until almost an hour later, after their second shower, that Buffy was able to phone Joyce and invite her to dinner. The next invitation went out to Giles, who didn’t realize he would be introduced to Buffy’s mate. He agreed to join them for dinner, and offered to bring a bottle of wine.

Then it was time to call Merrick, who laughingly asked if it was safe to come back to the warehouse. Buffy giggled and told him to come home. The happy couple was waiting for him as he came through the door. “Congratulations,” Merrick said, giving Buffy a big hug and swinging her in a circle. “Are you happy?” He put her down so she could stand on her own feet.

Buffy nodded, her hair bouncing. Spike’s arms circled her waist from behind and she leaned into his body, loving the feel of his arms around her.

Merrick shook hands with Spike, congratulating him on the mating.

“Since it’s daylight, I guess I’m going to have to shop for tonight’s dinner without Spike. Want to keep me company, Merrick?” Buffy silently pleaded with her Watcher.

“Why not?” He shrugged. “I can always sleep afterwards.”

Buffy turned in Spike’s arms, kissing him deeply. “See you in a bit.”

Eyes closed, he held her tight and inhaled her scent before releasing her to go with Merrick. “Hurry back,” he yelled from the shadows, before closing the door behind them.

Several times over the hour Buffy and Merrick used to shop, Spike used his connection with Buffy to make sure she was okay. One time Spike asked Buffy to bring back smokes, making Buffy laugh and shake her head.

Merrick looked at her with concern, brow raised.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going mad,” Buffy assured him, as she looked over the meat at the grocery store. “It’s just Spike.”

“Yeah? What about Spike? Did he do something funny?” Merrick pushed the cart forward.

“It’s just nice to have someone concerned about me.” Buffy blushed. “And to know that he isn’t going anywhere.” She leaned over a pile of apples. “And now he just asked me to buy him a carton of smokes,” she said with amusement.

“How did he...” Merrick looked at Buffy with amazement. “The claim is already that strong?”

Smiling brightly, she nodded.

“I always knew you were something special, Buffy. Now, let’s get this done. There’s more to dinner than shopping.”

“I’ve learned a lot over the years, ya know.”

Looking back at her and arching a brow, Merrick got in line to pay.

“I know how to cook,” she pouted. “You’ll see for yourself tonight.”

Buffy didn’t see his smile.

********************’

Spike came out from behind the door, once it was closed behind the shoppers. He kissed Buffy immediately, and then relieved her of her bags. “What have you bought?” Spike asked as he tried to peek into the bags.

“Food. But the most exciting thing you’re carrying is ice cream. Merrick has all the liquor.”

He looked up from his attempts to see into the bags at that. “Did you say liquor?”

“Yes, I did,” Buffy giggled.

“Merrick, my friend...Want to keep me company over a glass?” Spike looked over his shoulder at Merrick, who was following them up the stairs.

“Hey.” Buffy stopped Merrick from answering. “First, we need to get ready for our guests, and there is that little thing about Willow. After that, we can all have a drink. We’ll probably need it by then.”

“What’s this about Willow?” Merrick asked, placing his bags down on the table, and steadying them before he released them.

“We’ve decided to bind Willow’s powers, at least until she learns to handle them better. We’ll place a bond on her that will connect her to two or three other people, and she’ll need the approval of at least two of those people before she can perform magic. If she tries it without their consent, we’ll be notified, and her spell will fail.”

There was complete silence.

Buffy looked up from the bag she was emptying. She looked from Spike to Merrick, and then back in confusion. “What...?” She was cut off when Spike grabbed her, kissing the breath out of her.

“You’re so sexy when you let your intelligence show. I love you, woman of mine.” He leaned in, ready to continue the kissing.

They forgot all about Merrick, until he cleared his throat rather loudly. With an embarrassed smile and a blush, Buffy straightened her rumpled clothing and returned to unpacking the bags.

Spike just smirked, not the least ashamed about being caught making out with his mate.

Folding the last bag, Buffy looked at the time. “I think we have enough time to settle the matter about Willow, and take a little break before we start dinner.”

“Have you decided who you’re going to pick to face the wrath of Willow? Giles is turning around, but a little too slowly for me. Joyce doesn’t know enough about our world. So, who?” Merrick looked inquiringly at Buffy.

Buffy started to fidget, not looking at Merrick or Spike. “I was thinking, you, Spike, and me...but just temporarily,” she hurried to add.

Spike and Merrick groaned simultaneously.

“Sorry, but I don’t see any other choice.” She threw her hands out in a helpless gesture.

“I know, Sweetheart.” Spike pulled her into his arms, stroking her back and comforting her. “How are we going to bind her powers?”

Buffy pulled back a little to look into his eyes. “Now that we’re mated, there’s a spell we can do together. We’re not just the Judges. Sometimes we have to carry out the sentences, like with Willow. We’re the Judges, the jury and, in a way, the executioners. You game?”