Duty Or Destiny - (5) Fairytales and Lies - Part 2
By Tasha

Chapter Summary: Continuing with the infamous Halloween episode from Season 2, we pick up where chapter 4 left off. Buffy, now calling herself Lady Elizabeth, found herself at a church near one of the cemeteries during her search for her fiancé William. Angel, Cordy, Willow, and Xander get into their own scuffles while they look for Buffy. Spike and some transformed trick-or-treaters are on a mission to find Buffy first. Part 2 will take us through the end of the episode. Part 3 will pick up at the episode "Lie To Me".

Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter was a long time in coming. I'm pretty nervous about it. Had a rough time of things IRL, and I had a hard time working this chapter to my satisfaction for believability. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: All characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them by all rights. I just sneak them out of the vaults to play with them whenever I can. I do not make any money off of this. I have only the satisfaction that others enjoy the creativity and storylines that I come up with for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

---

Larry, the pirate, jumped out at Willow and Cordelia in an alleyway. Their party split up into two groups about ten minutes prior to cover more ground. Larry pushed Cordy up against the wall.

Willow tried to help. Instead of shoving Larry away, her ghostly form went right through him. She fell to the ground hard. "Ouch!" She quickly jumped back up and dusted herself off.

Cordy struggled in Larry's grasp. She screamed and kicked at the pirate. "You are so going to regret this, Mister." She choked out during the grappling session.

A blur of camouflage barreled down the alley. Xander literally rammed Larry in the gut to get him away from Cordy. Once he had Larry separated from the cat woman, Xander pummeled the pirate in the gut, chin, and cheek. He finished with a solid punch to the pirate's nose.

Angel, who arrived at the same time Xander did, helped Cordy back to her feet. "Everyone okay?"

Xander bounced on the heels of his combat boots. "That was strangely satisfying. I somehow feel vindicated."

Willow nodded. "Stupid ghost outfit. Remind me to listen to Buffy next year for Halloween."

"This better not happen again." Angel growled. He was uncomfortable with being away from Buffy in her current state. "When I find out who did this, I'm going to kill him."

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Willow informed them about her trip to get Giles and their visit to Ethan's. "I think Giles is going to do the job for you."

"Some guys have all the fun." Xander snapped his fingers in a darn motion.

"We still haven't found Buffy." Angel stomped out of the alley. "I'm not stopping until I do."

"Let's think this through," Cordy spoke up. "She thinks she is getting married." She caught up to Angel, and everyone else followed closely behind. "We haven't checked a single church yet. Wouldn't she try to find a church to locate whoever she thinks is her fiancé?"

Xander slapped his forehead. "Good thinking, Catwoman." Xander shouldered his rifle and picked up his pace to match Angel's. "Where are the churches, and do we take each one together or split up again?"

"Splitting up didn't work too well for us last time," Willow whimpered. "I vote we stay together."

"I don't care what we do. I just want to do it and get home." Cordelia looked down at her torn costume and dirtied hands. "I so need a manicure right now."

Angel rolled his eyes. He mentally counted, 'One Mississippi ... Don't kill the children. Two Mississippi ... They don't know any better. Three Mississippi ...'

Xander pulled a Sunnydale map out of his big BDU leg pocket. "Ghost lady ... you seem to know the most about this town. Where are the churches around here?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike's nostrils flared and his senses tingled. He was getting closer to the Slayer. His search led him to the doorway of a small church along the outer edge of the cemetery.

All the way around Sunnydale he focused on the smell and taste that he remembered of Buffy's blood. He knew that their previous meeting had lightly scarred her neck because he mingled blood from his own tongue with hers to seal the wound he created. That taste of her blood helped him to locate her specific blood scent amongst the others that invaded his senses.

Spike felt the draw of the Slayer's blood and scent that he followed through the streets of Sunnydale. It was more than just Slayer blood, it was the blood of the one he would claim. He'd given it a lot of thought during the time they'd been apart. Dru's prattling was getting worse and worse. Even after only the brief sharing of blood with Buffy, he wanted more in a way other than draining her. He felt like he needed her, like she was home to him.

Even his demon seemed appeased at the thought of having the Slayer be his own. Was there some part of the Slayer that was a demon as well? The demon wanted the claim as much as the man did. It was an odd compromise between the two and a strange thing for them both to agree on.

The tiny troop of transformed trick-or-treaters hovered outside of the holy building. The little demons knew a church wasn't somewhere they would like to be. They gladly took up positions outside to stand guard at Spike's order.

Spike's demon hissed within at the thought of entering the place of worship, especially on Halloween. His senses told him that the Slayer was inside. If Buffy was as weak as Peaches said, he decided it might be better to approach the woman in a casual and caring manner. Inside a church the Slayer would feel safer. 'I should probably put the demon face away in any case. That will help with the unease.'

Spike mentally put a collar on his demon and locked it into submission. He wanted his demon under control and not the other way around. Once his initial bloodlust stage was gone as a fledgling, Spike found that he could communicate on certain levels with his demon. Something told him that this was not always the case with vampires, if his true Sire was any example to go by.

Although Spike wanted to deny it, a large part of his humanity remained after his turning. He still longed for many of the things that William enjoyed as a human. He still wrote in a journal that he kept well hidden from Dru and the other minions. He spent many years learning to hide the pieces of him that his vampire family would not accept. He'd quickly learned that a certain image needed to be maintained to retain the fear and loyalty needed for a Master Vampire as well.

Spike tentatively stepped across the threshold, turned down a small hallway, and emerged into an open meeting area. He noticed the scent of fresh magic in the air, and he felt the prickling sensation of magic around him once he passed into the church. Someone wanted them to be undisturbed. He was a bit unnerved because he was unaware of who wanted to cloak his and Buffy's presence. Was Dru messing around in places she ought not to again?

Spike hated magic in general. It served its purpose, but there were always consequences for spells or loopholes that allowed danger to creep in. He almost turned back around to leave, but a small whimper reached his ears. He knew who that frightened sound belonged to, and it called out to him to find her.

Without his demon guise, Spike's eyesight was more limited. He tripped over some loose boards in the floor, fell back against a wall with a large cross on it, and jumped away as quickly as he could when he started to burn.

The soft weeping of the woman, who sat crumpled in one of the pews, turned into a gasp of shock at the noises behind her. She stood up quickly and turned to search the shadows for whatever had joined her. She'd seen some scary things tonight, and she wasn't eager to meet any more of them.

The tightening in Buffy's stomach that she'd felt since she left the house, and the seemingly familiar tingling sensation in her body, finally evened out when the stranger stepped into the church. She'd known as his presence drew closer to her position over the last hour. No matter how scared she was to be in the church alone, she knew the coming presence was the man she sought. She comforted herself with the knowledge that everything would be all right soon. "Wi ... William?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ethan laughed hard when he felt the tendrils of his protected magic snap into place. It was an extra spell he attached to Buffy's dress to keep the Slayer occupied if she found her "love" that the dress compelled her to find. It also sent him an image of the "love" that the Slayer found. "Oh this is too perfect." He sneered at Giles. He couldn't have planned the whole situation better himself. He never would have figured that the Slayer would seek out a vampire, especially the one he recognized from the image, as her fiancé.

"What are you laughing at, Ethan? I don't find any of this a bit funny." Giles punched Ethan in the jaw. He manhandled Ethan up against the wall. "You are in a lot of trouble here, Ethan. Make it easier on yourself, and tell me how to break the spell now."

"They don't make Slayers like they used to, eh Ripper?" Ethan taunted the man who used to mean everything to him. "They are quite naughty now. Might even get themselves killed with their tastes if they aren't too careful."

"Ethan, I'm tired of your games." Giles tightened his grip around Ethan's neck and squeezed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike stopped dead in his tracks. 'What the hell did that bint just call me?' He listened for the sounds of any movement coming towards him.

Elizabeth's heart fluttered. She felt him. She knew he was near, but why wasn't he answering her. "William?" She spoke out tentatively again.

Intrigued, Spike stepped into the chapel area. No one had called him that name in about over a century. The woman he saw illuminated by the moonlight looked nothing like the Slayer he'd fought in the school. Although the beauty of the Slayer when she fought was radiant, the woman before him glowed with another kind of beauty, elegance, and grace.

"Whoever you are, show yourself." Elizabeth started to get even more nervous. She fiddled with the fan in her hands. With a flick of her wrist it opened, and she fanned it rapidly in front of her face.

Spike walked further into the chapel to stand in a large beam of moonlight. He tilted his head to the side while he regarded Buffy. The gown was obviously something from his era. 'Why would the Slayer wear something like that?' He looked closer at her attire. His fingers itched to run through the curls framing her face. 'I'll be damned even more if that isn't a wedding dress.'

"Don't just stand there." Elizabeth nibbled on her lower lip in nervousness. "Please say something." She raised her fan up to her face. Only her eyes peeked over the top of the fan to look at "William". He was everything that she'd imagined her fiancé would be. He looked so regal and handsome. His cheekbones made his face seem like it was chiseled out of marble.

"What would you like me to say, pet?" Spike smirked.

'Oh for the love of God that voice,' Elizabeth thought to herself. She nearly swooned at the sound of his voice. She gathered her courage, moved closer to the man in the moonlight, and strengthened her resolve. "How about telling me why I woke up with no memories and no fiancé by my side?"

"How should I know about that?" Spike looked a bit chuffed at the Slayer's questions. "I wasn't there when you got out of bed this morning."

"Oh my!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Of course you weren't, William. That would be improper before our wedding day." She slapped Spike on the chest with her closed fan. "I meant where were you when I came back from fainting. All I saw were these strange people and creatures, with no sign of my fiancé."

"So that is a wedding dress then, pet?"

"Of course it is a wedding dress, William!" Elizabeth huffed in frustration. "What else would I wear for you on our wedding day?"

"Our wedding day," Spike choked. "Are you off your rocker, Slayer?"

Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears. "You don't want me anymore, William? After everything else I've suffered tonight to find you, you don't want me?" She plopped down in a nearby pew in a very unladylike fashion. "And don't call me Slayer. I don't know who that is."

"Fraid you do, pet." Spike sat down on the pew next to Buffy. He pointed to her stomach. "You feeling a bit tingly in the nether regions?"

Elizabeth blushed. "William!" She grabbed her stomach. "Those are wedding day jitters, and we should not be talking about my nether regions right now."

In an uncharacteristic reaction, Spike drew both of Buffy's hands into hers. "What is your Christian name?"

"Elizabeth Evelyn Winters, but you should know that." Elizabeth stared at William in confusion. This day kept getting more bizarre. People she didn't recognize thought she knew them. Then one person she knew didn't seem to know her. "When will this nightmare end?" She buried her face in her hands and wept.

"I don't want to be your nightmare, pet." Spike lifted Buffy's chin with his fingertips. "Though I might have been a nightmare of yours at one time, I don't want that any more."

Elizabeth raised her tear stained face to look at the man she believed was her fiancé. "William, please explain this to me. Make all this confusion go away." She slid across the last bit of distance between them and buried her face in his chest. She sought the protection of his embrace to make everything right again.

"I think there are a few things you should know, including the fact that I am going to make you mine." Spike ran his fingers through the somewhat tangled curls on Elizabeth's head.

"It's all I've wanted from the moment I met you." Elizabeth sniffled and muttered into his duster. "Forgive my forwardness, but we were supposed to be married today. In my memory you've always stirred something in me that wants you and needs you."

"There's a story that I need to tell you about us before I can go through with a binding and claiming." Spike inhaled a deep unnecessary breath before he old the woman before him all about herself, demons, Slayers, and more. He told her about a binding ritual that would link them together because he believed the origins of his vampire demon and her Slayer calling were closely related.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You never should have left me, Ripper." Ethan choked out. "You don't belong with these children." He tried to sway his one time lover back to his side of the fence. "They can't give you what I can."

"The only thing you can give me is the means to break this harmful spell you've cast." Giles tried not to let Ethan's words affect him. Although he was furious with the worshipper of chaos, he wasn't entirely unfeeling when it came to Ethan. He forced himself to be strong. The only way to make Ethan break was to berate his feelings. "You are nothing to me otherwise, Ethan Rayne. You were just a stepping stone to bring me back to my proper path."

Ethan gasped in shock. His eyes turned steely and cold. "Then you can go to hell, Watcher." The word Watcher came out of Ethan's mouth with a disgusted sneer. "You'll get nothing from me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy's attention wandered away from Spike's preparations. She'd absorbed a lot of information in the last half hour. He explained to her what true century she was living in and about her calling. It all sounded so odd and far-fetched. For being her supposed enemy, William seemed to know an awful lot about Slayers that had nothing to do with fighting. She couldn't believe that he'd actually started off trying to kill her when he arrived in the town.

Originally Spike patiently waited for everything he told Elizabeth to sink into her brain. He'd even told her that the tingling sensation she felt in his presence was due to him being a vampire.

Even though Elizabeth ran away from Angel when his vampiric visage emerged, she showed no fear at the knowledge of Spike's undead state. He'd also changed faces to show her exactly all that he was. After a shriek of fear, Elizabeth calmed back down enough to trace William's ridged brow and fangs carefully.

Angel's voice sounded hard, cold, demanding and angry to Elizabeth. William's voice was comforting, patient, accepting, and nearly tender. Even when he looked like a vampire, her thoughts did not waiver from completing the ceremonies William told her about.

Spike saw Buffy's mind wandering away from the task at hand. He needed her focus to be on him and every word spoken, or action performed, during the ceremony. He was positive that his thoughts about the Slayer being part demon were factual, but he needed Elizabeth to know and accept each part of the ceremony. If he was right about the Slayer's demon, it wouldn't matter if her present mind didn't remember her past. The demon would still be there under the surface to accept or refute the ceremony. The demon would be influenced by Elizabeth's current state though, which put things more in his favor.

Elizabeth found that she felt safer with William, who she found also called himself Spike, than with Angel. A part of her told her mind that she should probably wait to do the ceremony. Most of her mind, heart and soul told her that this was what she needed to do. It said that she would be safer after doing the ceremony, safer from something that she didn't realize she should fear yet.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Spike asked Elizabeth again. His demon was chomping at the bit to emerge and take what he wanted. His former poetic side wanted to be sure he wouldn't be rejected later. He'd faced enough rejection for an unlifetime of lifetimes.

"All I could think about from the moment I found myself lost was that I had to get back to you, William." Buffy cupped Spike's cheek in the palm of her hand. She caressed the sharp angles of his cheekbone with the tip of her thumb. "I had to find you, or I thought I would die inside."

"You won't be able to change this if you ever come back to your Slayer mind again, pet." Spike reiterated while he clasped Buffy's left hand in his left hand, facing each other. "You'll be linked to me, and after the claim you will belong to me. That git of a Sire of mine will never touch you again, or I'll kill him."

"I don't care, William." Buffy tightened her hand in William's grasp. "Whatever I think as this Slayer you talk about, I don't know why she would reject you when you are all I remember. You have to have meant something to her too, and do you realize how crazy this all sounds?"

Spike chuckled. "Everything will be perfectly clear soon, luv. You'll know exactly what we are to each other." He unclasped the heavy silver rope style chain from around his neck. "This should be long enough." His necklace was the best and safest item to use as a handfasting cord for the ceremony.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Angel," Willow tried to get the dark vampire's attention with her voice. She grew increasingly frustrated at not being able to touch anything.

For the last couple hours the Scooby group searched the various churches they found. They spent a great deal of time rescuing people and subduing others. It wasted a lot of time, but they had to be careful.

Each of them, except Xander, was leery of killing one of the "demons" because it could be a costume converted human. None of them were able to figure out who the real monsters were. Even Angel's senses were all screwed up because of Ethan's spell. Humans who were turned into their demonic costumes still felt like demons to him.

Willow stepped into Angel's path a few feet in front of him. "Angel, look," She pointed at the cluster of demon's around a church.

"Hello, that can't be a good sign," Cordelia added in her two cents worth. "I wonder what they have cornered in there."

"Most of the attacks so far were chaotic." Xander observed, "Those guys there seem pretty organized towards one purpose."

Angel inhaled the night air deeply. The breeze tasted of magic. "I can't smell Buffy, but my instincts say that she's in there."

"Then we need to make a plan to get those demons away from the church." Xander pulled out a little notebook from his breast pocket. "We have four of us. That is plenty of people to create a diversion and get inside."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"This is going to hurt some pet, but you will heal quickly." Spike lifted Buffy's wrist to his mouth, his fangs slipped from his gums, and he slit her wrist in a thin line parallel to the bottom of her palm.

Elizabeth yelped in pain, but the pain quickly disappeared. She watched the blood bead and trickle from the cut with fascination. She found herself entranced while she watched William repeat the same actions to his own wrist.

Spike clasped just above Buffy's left wrist with his left hand. Both bleeding wrists fit snug against each other, and he wrapped the silver chain around their joined wrists and then criss-crossed over each of their hands. The words of an ancient language flowed from his fanged mouth without conscious thought.

Elizabeth gripped William's wrist tighter when hers started to ache and pulse with prickles of an icy cold nature. She nearly panicked after she looked down to find their hands glowing silver around hers and gold around William's. "William ... William ..." She tried to get William's attention.

Spike kept chanting from the depths of his being. His demon fully emerged and roared out in release. He felt like his heart was beating and being ripped from his body. Were it not for their joined hands, and the increasingly stronger grip of the Slayer, he would have fallen over.

"Will ..." Elizabeth's voice trailed off from the refined tones of the gentry to a guttural growling language that matched the one Spike continued to speak. The Slayer's eyes flashed silver with her natural green as a ring around them, and she seemed to pick up where Spike's chanting had now stopped.

Vampire and Slayer gripped each other's hands harder, digging their nails into the other one's flesh. Gold and silver light splashed together to combine into another light that crawled up their joined wrists to consume their entire bodies. The chanting grew louder, more feral, and ultimately took over both creatures in the chapel who chanted jointly again.

Buffy called out "One Body".

Spike called out "One Soul".

Simultaneously they screamed, "Whole"!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ethan Rayne laughed roughly after he told Giles how to break the spell. He'd felt the crackle of a stronger and ancient magic snap into place between the warring powers in Sunnydale. 'Ripper will never have her back as the innocent little Slayer that she might have been before tonight. I'm surprised that she bound herself to him though.'

"You have no idea what's begun, Ripper." Ethan rested on his side and clutched his ribs. "You can't stop it, and I warn you not to try. If you don't accept it, you'll lose her completely." He taunted.

Giles smashed the statue of Janus on the ground. "What are you ..." His voice faltered when he turned around to face an empty floor. He groaned.

Ethan was a bit off his rocker. Was he simply trying to put Giles off balance about which way it was, or was it more than that? When Ethan Rayne was around, no good could come of it. He was certain this was not the last he'd be seeing of Ethan in the near future. "Knowing Ethan, I must be prepared for anything."

A sinister laugh echoed around the back room. "You'll never be prepared for what's to come, Ripper. It's far beyond what I've done." The echo trailed off into nothingness once more.

"Oh dear."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow ran through the church's walls in search of Buffy. While Angel and Xander subdued the trick-or-treaters outside, Cordelia pushed against the door to get in. The door wouldn't open or budge for her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was Buffy, the vampire slayer, whose eyes searched out the truth and depths of Spike's gaze. Although the spell was still in place for the moment, the ritual brought the Slayer side of her forth enough to break through the enchantment surrounding the dress. "Spike?"

Spike growled deep and low in his throat. "Slayer?" He held Buffy's wrist securely to keep her from backing away.

"What ... How ..." Buffy felt a connection to Spike. Being this close to him, she actually felt a warmth or peace surrounding her that seemed to satiate even her need to fight him. 'Why isn't my Slayer side going all stake happy on Spike?'

"I know you felt it just as much as I did, pet. You can't deny it." Spike backed Buffy up against the back of one of the pews. He pressed his body along the length of hers. The hardness of his cock was unmistakably felt by Buffy.

Buffy gasped in shock. 'Oh my god! Is that his ... Oh my!' Her hand started to tremble, but she made no move to get away from him.

"You accepted, Slayer, and now you are going to be completely mine." Spike's voice was firm, but there was no sinister hint in the tone, only determination. He jerked their joined hands to bounce Buffy's body against his and bring her lips closer.

Buffy raised her free hand to cup his cheek and caress it. She knew she surprised him with the gesture. She drew his face down to hers where her warm lips awaited his touch.

Spike ran free hand through Buffy's hair. He fingered one of the ivory combs in her hair. His lips touched Buffy's, and their kiss instantly deepened into something more passionate than either expected.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow gaped at the couple in the chapel. "Buffy, it's a spell!" She called out to her best friend. When both Spike and Buffy seemed to ignore her, she ran back through the walls of the church to get the rest of the gang.

"Angel!" Willow tugged on Angel's arm. She was surprised that she actually touched him. She noticed the little demons all seemed to be back to little children. Before she was able to say another word, she vanished.

Angel turned around in search of Willow. Instead of Willow, he saw Cordelia standing on the outside of the church still.

Xander stared blankly at Angel. "Merciful Zeus, what was that?" His gun was toy gun again, and he knew exactly who he was. "Where's Willow?"

"I don't know, but we have to get into the church." Angel ran over to the door.

"It wouldn't budge for me," Cordelia stated dryly.

"The spell is over." Angel pushed ahead of Cordy and opened the door. "Something about it must have been keeping you out of there as well as being responsible for the transformations."

Cordelia shrugged and followed Xander and Angel inside.

Angel was the first to see the embracing couple inside, and his demon came to the surface in an instant. He growled, ran at the pair, and knocked Spike forcefully away from Buffy's throat.

Buffy cried out in pain when Spike's fangs were ripped from her neck. Her hand still had the silver necklace in it, and she raised that hand to her neck to try to stop the bleeding. The necklace flashed briefly and the wound instantly sealed itself.

Spike snarled and rolled around on the ground with Angel in a battle of fists and fangs. He kneed Angel in the chest and pushed the older vampire off his body with his feet.

"Angel," Buffy called out and ran over to the vampire after he hit the wall. She turned towards the shadows, searching for Spike. She couldn't see him, but she felt his presence strongly. She knew he was still in the church.

"Where did he go?" Angel held the back of his head.

"He isn't here anymore," Buffy answered. She tucked the necklace into the top of her dress quickly before she hoped anyone noticed it.

"Are you sure? It still feels like ..."

Buffy cut Angel off, "I'm positive. He's gone." She pulled Angel up off the floor. "Let's get out of here."

Angel looked disbelievingly at Buffy. He knew his Childe was still in the building. Why was Buffy covering for Spike? He wrapped Buffy's hand onto his arm and escorted her out, despite the unmistakable growl that echoed around them.

Angel, Xander, Cordelia and Buffy walked out of the church. While the others rambled on about the events of the evening, Buffy remained quiet. She looked back once more at the church. She swore that she saw Spike leaving it, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Angel just go home," Buffy sighed. Couldn't Angel get the hint that she didn't want him around? "I'm tired, and this has not been a good day. I just want to go to bed."

"If you are sure you're all right." Angel squeezed Buffy's arm gently. "You know where I am if you need me." He stood on the porch of Buffy's house with her.

Buffy nodded and shut the door. She pressed her back against the closed door, scooted down it, and crumbled herself to the floor with her head buried in her hands.

Angel listened to Buffy crying. He wished she would let him comfort her. With a heavy step he scuffed his way along the sidewalk and left the yard.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After a long hot shower, Buffy laid on her side in her bed. She felt so alone. She wept softly at first and then harder. The whole night's memories were a mass of confusion in her mind. One thing was clear though. She honestly thought William, aka Spike, was her fiancé. She sought him out specifically as the only name and man she remembered at the time. Why hadn't she remembered Angel? Wasn't he more special to her than Spike?

Buffy clutched the single ivory comb in her hand that was all that remained of her grandmother's set. She'd searched all around the areas she remembered being during the night without finding its mate. She set it on her nightstand.

The romantic side of Buffy wanted to believe that Spike ended up with the missing comb. She wanted him to have kept the comb as some sort of memorabilia for the brief time they shared before her reality crashed in on them.

Buffy tried to settle herself on her back. The cold metal against her bare skin reminded her of the silver rope chain she now wore. She fingered the cool metal.

'What did Spike say?' Buffy thought about the ceremony. 'Ah yes. He was going to bind our demons together and then claim me. Since when do I have a demon?' She sighed and continued to finger the silver chain with care. 'I don't think we finished it though.'

Buffy felt like there was an invisible string between her and wherever Spike was. It was pulled more tautly in the beginning than it was now. What did it all mean? She needed to find a way to research it without Giles knowing. She figured he would freak out if he knew what happened with Spike before the others arrived.

Buffy rubbed the fingertips of her one hand over her slightly swollen lips. If she closed her eyes she could imagine the feel of Spike's lips still against hers. She reveled in the memory of the best kiss she'd ever been given. Her core heated and tingled at the thought of his body that close to hers again.

The longer she thought about Spike and the different times they'd met, fought, kissed, or argued, the more worked up she got. In frustration she bent over the side of her bed and opened her nightstand. She removed a slender silver object from the drawer in the piece of furniture. "Looks like you and me are friends again tonight."

Buffy plopped back onto her back on her bed, ran the cylindrical object down her body, and finally twisted a dial to make it vibrate when she reached her aching and extended clit. "Oh gosh," She sighed. She stroked and twisted the vibrating toy around her clit. She alternated with short plunges of the toy into her heated channel.

Buffy's back arched off the bed. She pinched a nipple between the thumb and index finger of her free hand. She was lost in the sensations the toy caused as her mind wandered through all of the favorite fantasies her virginal mind came up with. When at last her body tensed completely, it was the image of a bleached blonde vampire with searching blue eyes thrusting into her heated core that sent her over the edge.

"Spike!" Buffy called out her release. She collapsed against the bed. Her body continued to quiver in tiny spasms of aftershocks. She fought to regain her composure and breath. She beat the back of her head against her pillow. "I'm a horrible Slayer. I call out my mortal enemy's name when I orgasm."

Buffy turned onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow. She dropped the toy back into the nightstand drawer without even looking at it or the drawer. As she drifted off to sleep, her thoughts were still centered on Spike. She smiled devilishly when sleep claimed her, and her dreams began.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'Oh no you aren't a bad Slayer,' Spike thought from his place at the bottom of the tree that reached to Buffy's window. 'You are the perfect kind of Slayer ... My Slayer.' He listened for a few minutes more until he was sure Buffy was asleep.

Spike strolled casually away from Buffy's house. He rubbed his fingertips over the ivory carvings of the comb in his pocket. He should have thrown it to the side after he left her, but he couldn't let it go. It was all he had to remind him that Elizabeth and the Slayer were his for a while.

Spike was certain that the Slayer felt the same attraction that Elizabeth did for him or the binding ceremony between their demons wouldn't have worked. It was simply a matter of Buffy's twisted knowledge of vampires getting in the way. He was no saint, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel. He'd felt and cared for Drusilla for a close to a century.

The only problem Spike now had was feeling too much. He never did anything half way, and there was no way he could kill her now. He wanted her as his Mate, and now he knew that somewhere deep inside her, Buffy wanted that too. The initial connection was formed with the Slayer's demon as a part of the whole woman that was Buffy Summers. He'd have to figure out how to reach that part of her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Angel kicked open the door to his apartment. "Stupid little girl," He growled. The silver chain wrapped around Spike and Buffy's wrists when she pulled away from Spike hadn't gone unnoticed by Angel. "She is going to end up dead." Verbally he told himself that was why he was upset, but mentally he knew that he was upset because Spike seemed to be closer to Buffy than he was.

"I have to find a way to get Spike out of town." Angel mused over what he could offer Spike to get him to give up on his Slayer quest. It dawned on him that Spike's main priority always used to be Drusilla. He knew his insane Childe was in town as well, and the demon grapevine told him that Drusilla was sick. "Maybe if I offer to help him make Dru well in some way, he will leave."

Angel plopped down on his bed with a delighted but sinister smile on his face. "I don't know what exactly he started, but I'll make damn sure he doesn't finish it."

Angel assumed that what happened with Spike was the only thing keeping Angel from Buffy. It still stung that Buffy pushed him out of her house after he walked her home. "Once he's gone, Buffy won't be able to refuse me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)