Disclaimer: Not mine ok? You don’t have to rub it in.

Author’s note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Quotes from the episode What’s my line part 1. denotes thought
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“You ate him! He was my friend and you ate him!” Buffy threw her hands up in the air.

“He was the bad guy luv”

“Yes he was a bad guy,” said Buffy resigned.

“He was the bad guy, luv, but I hadn’t eaten any of those other chaps. We were down there a good long time.”

“Excuses, excuses. You sired Ford!”

“He asked for it, and it wasn’t like I made him childer! He was minion material luv, nothing more.”

“Cause that makes me feel so much better”

Buffy was conflicted. This was the first time that Spike had actually done something she knew about that she disagreed with...no disagree was not a strong enough word. Yes, Ford had tried to kill her so that he could be a vampire, but did that make any difference? As many minions as she dusted or Spike dusted for that matter (cause he seemed to do that a lot, they pissed him off tonnes) there would always be vampires chowing down on Sunnydale’s population. And Spike was one of them. Brain hurts.

“What did you think was going to happen when you left him down there with us? That we’d knit sweaters together?”

Buffy laughed, “Do you know how to knit?”

“Not answering that”

“Was Drusilla ok?”

“Yeah, shaken up a little. Funny thing, she doesn’t like having stakes pointed at her. Did go on for an age about how her baby girl is a deadly killer though, I think you impressed her a bit.”

Buffy smiled and took a sip of her coffee. It was really too bad that the IHOP was the only 24 hour place in Sunnydale. Gourmet cappuccinos were what Buffy wanted when she had suggested coffee. True, Coffee was the non relationship beverage of choice, but what exactly was the relationship beverage of choice? But at 2 am, when one wanted to avoid, your lover’s minions, one had to make sacrifices. Oh also, Buffy suspected that Angel was stalking her too, in the misguided attempt to keep her safe from the thrall Spike had over her.

“They know, Spike,” she said solemnly.

“Did Angelus tip them off?” coming straight to the point as usual.

“More like he made a stage production of it. I’ve started ‘thrall fighting lessons’ to add to my already busy schedule.”

“Should prove interesting.”

“You aren’t worried?”

“No, haven’t used thrall on my girl since Halloween.”

Buffy looked relieved for a moment, then grew concerned.

“Did you use it before?”

Spike chuckled, “Second time we met.”

“The Starbucks? I always thought that it was weird that I wanted coffee so late at night, also that Starbucks wasn’t really close to my house.”

“Now you know.”

“Those were the only times you used it on me?”

“God’s honest truth.”
__________________________________________
A week later Buffy found her self in the same booth, trying to convince said lover that the tattoo on her neck had to go.

“My mom will see it”

“Wear your hair down.”

“I’ll forget it’s there and she’ll see it. Besides totally don’t want an evil demon symbol on my neck. I’ve got all the marks I need.” said Buffy letting her hand drift to Spike’s marks on her neck.

“That you do love”
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“Read it again.” commanded Spike, as he paced his factory lair.

Before him sat Dalton his most loyal of minions. The quest to find Dru a cure continued. Dalton was reading from the book that had been taken from the watcher’s library.

“Well, I'm not sure. It could be, uh...” Dalton shrugged, “deprimere... ille... bubula... linter.”

Spike looked through the dictionary that he held in his hands. He didn’t really need it to translate that little piece of idiocy.

“Debase, the beef, canoe.” Spike translated.

Dalton offered up a smile, hoping that Spike would realize that it wasn’t entirely his fault. In a moment of extreme frustration Spike punched him smack dab in the face.

“Why does that strike me as not right?” complained the master vampire.

Dalton looked up sheepishly and hastened to turn his attention back to the book.

“Spike, come dance?” asked Dru as she held out her hands. She had been amusing herself with Tarot cards before and keeping out of the way for a bit.

“Give us some peace, would you? Can't you see I'm working?” snapped Spike. The frustration from not finding a cure for such a long time was beginning to build on him. He needed to de-stress and soon, before he didn’t have any minions left.

Drusilla pulled back her hand and began to pout and whine. She didn’t like when Spike got angry with her. He was supposed to be her dark knight and not get angry with his dark princess.

“Oh, kitten. It's just this manuscript. Supposed to hold your cure, but it reads like gibberish. E-even Dalton here, the big brain, he can't make heads or tails of it.” Spike explained.

“I... I, I need to change Miss Edith.” said Dru distractedly putting her hands to her head.

Noticing her discomfort Spike wrapped his arms around his sire.

“Oh, forgive me! You know I can't stand to see you like this.” Spike sat Dru down and crouched down to look at her face. “We're runnin' out of time.”

“Shh. Shh. You'll make it right. I know.”

Spike wrapped his hands around her neck and kissed her on the cheek. If only she would get better, he thought. He turned his attention back to Dalton.

“Well. Come on, now. Enlighten me.” Spike commanded.

“Uh, well, it looks like Latin, but it's not. I-I'm not even sure it's, it's a language, actually, I...” stammered the minion.

“Then MAKE IT A LANGUAGE! Isn't that what a transcriber does?!”

“Well, not exactly...”

Spike grabbed Dalton by the shirt and lifted him up out of his chair. Sometimes minions needed more persuasion.

“I want the cure.”

“Don't...” interjected Dru, who had returned to her Tarot cards.

“Why not? Some people find pain very inspirational.”

“He can't help you. Not without... the key.” answered Dru.

“The key? You mean this book is in some kind of code?”

“Yeah.”

Spike shoved Dalton back into his chair and walked over to his sire.

“Is that where we'll find this key?” Spike asked seeing the cards spread out in front of Dru.

“Yeah!”

“I'll send the boys, pronto!”

“Now will you dance?” asked Dru smiling.

“I'll dance with you, pet.”

Spike pulled her up from her chair and lifted her up into his arms.
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Hate minions! thought Buffy as she climbed back into her bedroom. Minions about meant that Spike was not out, he didn‘t want to be seen by his minions cavorting with the slayer, like he was ashamed of her or something. Peering into her room Buffy noted that Angel there, in her room and had picked up Mr Gordo from her shelf. God! what is he doing here? Rolling her eyes Buffy launched her bag o’weapons into her room.

“Buffy! You scared me,” declared the vampire.

“Now you know what it feels like, Stealth Guy.” said Buffy as she climbed into her room. “ Just dropping by for some quality time with Mr. Gordo?”

“Excuse me?”

“The pig.” she answered as she deposited her bag o’weapons into her trunk.

“Oh.” he laughed “I, uh...”

“What's up?” she asked. Please let there be a good explanation for why Angel is in my room, she silently begged.

“Nothing,” he said as he tossed Mr Gordo onto a chair.

“Only you don't have a nothing face. You have a something face. And you don't have to whisper. Mom's in L.A. till Thursday. Art buying, or something.” And I wanted to spend this time with Spike, in this room doing bad naughty things. But can’t now.

“Then why'd you come in through the window?”

“Habit.”

“I wanted to make sure you're okay. I had a bad feeling.”

“There's a surprise. Angel comes with bad news.”

Angel exhaled in that ‘Buffy’s a child’ pissed off way he had.

“Oh, God, I'm sorry.” she said walking over to him. “Look, I've been Cranky Miss all day. It's not you.” No it’s just that you aren’t who I want to be with right now.

“Well, what is it then?”

“It's nothing.” Not ready to tell you yet, you dense broody fool. “Uh, we're having this thing at school.”

“Career week?”

“How did you know?”

“I lurk.”

“Right. Well, then you know it's a whole week of 'what's my line', only... I don't get to play. Sometimes I just want...”

“You want what?”

Buffy looked into the mirror. What did she want? Which of her three lives did she want to continue with? She looked into the mirror only to see herself sitting on her bed. Did she want to be alone in the mirror? Did she want to see Spike in the mirror with her? or did she want to see no one in the mirror at all?

“It's okay.”

“The Cliff Notes version? I want a normal life. Like I had before.” Before I knew all about Vampires, and that Spike was one.

“Before me.”

“No, Angel, it's not you. There’s very little in this world that really makes sense to me anymore. I just get messed sometimes. I wish we could be regular kids, all of us. Me you, Willow, Xander. Just be normal and not have to deal with the Vampires and the demons.

“Yeah. I'll never be a kid.”

“Yeah, I can’t really see you as a kid either. Where you this broody when you were a kid?“

Angel laughed. His attention drifted to a picture of Buffy as a kid, skating.

“Was this part of your normal life?”

“Oh, my God.” Buffy laughed and stood. “My Dorothy Hamill phase. My room in L.A. was pretty much a shrine. Dorothy dolls, Dorothy posters, I even got the Dorothy haircut. Thereby securing a place for myself in the geek hall of fame.”

“Hmm, you wanted to be like her?”

“I wanted to be her. My parents were fighting all the time, and skating was an escape. I felt safe.”

“When was the last time you put on your skates?”

“About a couple of hundred demons ago.”

“There's a rink out past Route 17, it's... closed on Tuesdays.”

“Tomorrow's Tuesday.”

“I know.”
__________________________________________
At school the next day Buffy couldn’t help but tell Willow about Angel and Skating. It was just too sweet of him.

“You and Angel are going skating? Alone?” asked Willow

“Unless some unforeseen evil pops up. But I'm in full 'see no evil' mode.” *But I’m usually in see no evil mode aren’t I?*

“Angel ice-skating.”

“I know. Two worlds collide.”

Xander caught up with them as they walked across the quad.

“Wouldn't you two say you know me about as well as anyone else? Maybe even better than I know myself?”

“What's this about?” asked Willow.

“When you look at me, do you think 'prison guard'?” replied Xander.

Willow and Buffy giggled. Prison Guard? Xander?

“Um, crossing guard, maybe, but prison guard?” Buffy firmly shook her head.

“They just put up the assignments for the career fair, and according to my test results I can look forward to being gainfully employed in the growing field of corrections.”

“Well, at least you'll be on the right side of the bars.” said Buffy.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha! Laugh now, missy, they assigned you to the booth for law enforcement professionals.”

“As in police?” said Buffy Stunned.

“As in polyester, doughnuts and brutality.”

Buffy let out a whine.

“But, doughnuts!” said Willow trying to look on the positive side.

“Well, I'll just jump off that bridge when I come to it.” whined Buffy, until she saw Giles, complete with large stack of books. “ First I have to deal with Giles. He's on this Tony Robbins hyper-efficiency kick. Expects me to check in every day after homeroom.” Buffy walked off after her watcher.
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Spike and Dru stared at the large red cross on the ornate pillow. He had sent Dalton to get it, along with another minion. If the tale that Dalton was spreading was true, Buffy had shown up and had beat him to an inch of his unlife. Dalton had gone up against the Slayer and come out alive, for a minion that was prestigious indeed.

“This is it then?” asked Spike.

“It hums. I can hear it.”

“Once you're well again, we'll have a coronation down Main Street, and invite everyone, and drink for seven days and seven nights.”

From behind, Dalton had to ruin the moment.

“What about the Slayer? She almost blew the whole thing for us. She's trouble.”

“You don't say? Trouble?!” Spike started to pace. “She’s supposed to be trouble for us. She’s the god damn Slayer isn’t she? Need a way to keep her busy. Keep her from poking her cute little nose into my plans.” shouted Spike as he kicked the table for good measure.

“Spike?” whispered Dru.

“I’m not worried Pet, We'll complete your cure regardless.“

“The minions will feel better if you did something to take her out.“ said Dru. “Baby needs a test maybe? Sunshine needs clouds to dull the skies!“

“What have you got planned Dru?“ Spike asked with trepidation.

“Pretty plans, with guests and songs. Baby will prove her worth.“

Spike‘s mind followed a logical progression. “The Order of Taraka. You’ve called in those nutters?“ Dru had always wanted to use them.

“The bounty hunters?!” exclaimed Dalton, who had been all but forgotten.

Drusilla dealt out three tarot cards. One is of a Cyclops, another of a centipede and the third of a panther.

“They're coming to my party. Three of them.”

“Uh, yes, but... The Order of Taraka, I mean... isn't that overkill?” asked Dalton.

“Just a little test for baby.”
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Angel refused to put on skates and get on the ice with her. Which was ok, really. Cause Ice skating with a vampire could only lead to hand holding and that would lead to the bad. Angel = Friend, nothing more.

Caught in her thoughts Buffy wiped out and slid to a halt next to the wall. As she tried to get up something started choking her from above, lifting her off the ice. Buffy found herself pressed into the railing and being choked by !ugly!

Just trying to have a happy moment here! thought Buffy as she tried to pry the hands from her throat.

“Buffy!” shouted Angel, coming across the ice, complete with game face.

Angel pushed ugly off of Buffy, causing her to fall onto the ice landing hard on her knee. Looking up from her position on the ice, Buffy noted ugly and Angel battling it out. Angel punched ugly in the face before ugly retaliated with a hard blow to Angel’s stomach, sending the vampire into the wall.

Skating over to the two combatants Buffy grabbed the safety net and hit ugly with the blade of her skate.

Buffy rubbed her knee. Stupid dead ugly guy. Now I‘ll never skate professionally. she joked to herself.

Angel crouched over ugly and lifted the dead guy’s hand.

“The Hellmouth presents: Dead Guys On Ice. Not exactly the evening we were aiming for.” said Buffy.

“You're in danger. You know what the ring means?” declared Angel.

“I just killed a Super Bowl champ?”

“I'm serious! You should go home and wait until you hear from me.”

Angel dropped the hand and stood up, still in game face. Clearly very annoyed. Buffy thought. I’m not his little sister! He can’t order me around.

“Are you okay?”

Buffy noticed that he had a cut above his eye. “What about you? That cut!” She said temporarily forgetting her outrage.

“Forget about me. This is bad, Buffy. We gotta get you outta here.”

“What, you mean hide?”

“Let's just get you someplace safe!”

“No! Your eye!” Angel backs away from her. “Hey! Don't be a baby. I'm not gonna hurt you.”

“It's not that. I...”

“What?”

“You shouldn't have to touch me when I'm like this.”

Buffy took a good look at his vampire game face. She removed her glove and put her hand on his brow.

“I didn’t even notice. It’s a part of you, and I’m not ashamed to have you as my friend Angel.”
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She needed to speak to Spike. He’d make everything seem much better. Buffy stood on her front porch and stood to scan the area. There could be an assassin stalking her right now. How many more people did she need stalking her? Spike’s minions, assassins, Angel...It was a stalk Buffy convention. Struck by a sudden compulsion, Buffy stepped off her porch and went into the back yard.

Standing near the hedge, was the one person she really wanted to talk to. Buffy’s face lit up when she saw him and ran to wrap her arms around him.

“Thank god! You will never guess how horrible my day was!”

“I can imagine pet.” he said speaking into her hair.

“I have assassins after me! I have to stupid career day crap and Angel and Giles are all ‘head for the hills’”

“Running away wouldn’t do the trick with these fellas Goldilocks.”

“Huh?” asked Buffy puzzled. “Do you know who’s after me?”

“Ya, I do luv.”

“How do you know?” she said backing up from him.

“Dru’s the one that’s hired them.”

“Dru’s hired assassins to kill me?”

“Not to kill you love, it’s a test. They’ve been hired to capture you, that’s all.”

“But Giles said that they were unstoppable, they will keep coming and coming.”

“Until you are presented to the person that’s hired them, pet.”

“Great, Why don’t I just go see Drusilla now? Would that get them off my tail?”

“Dru likes her games Goldilocks, she won’t want you to spoil her fun.”

“Fun! This isn’t fun Spike!”

“I know love,”

“On top of everything else, my career test told me I’ll be a good police person. I don’t want to be a police officer!”

“And you won’t be luv,”

“So how long do I have to deal with this game of Drusilla’s?”

“She said three.”

“Ok, two more to go then. I got one tonight.”

“Ya, I know.”

“Having minions follow me again?”

“Yep, evil pet. And what’s the deal with you and Peaches ice skating?”

“He wanted to take me skating? You never offered. Too busy letting mummy’s hired ruthless killers to capture me and ordering minions about to steal crosses.”

“I didn’t know you wanted to go skating luv,”

“Perceptive the boyfriend strikes again.”

“Buffy...” he said with warning.

“Everything we do is secret Spike. Just once I’d like to go out, and not at 1 am to the IHOP.”

“Look, I’m very close to the cure for Dru, after I’m done with that, we will go where ever and do what ever you want, ok pet?”

“I suppose. Can I at least tell other people I have a boyfriend?”

“Let me think about that love, I might need some persuading” he said with a leer.

“Take me somewhere, hotel room and I’ll come up with some interesting ways to persuade you.”
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Buffy closed the door the motel room and looked at her lover.

“Let the persuading begin.“

Buffy stalked closer to him, standing in the middle of the room. Buffy pushed his duster off of his shoulders and set about undoing his pants.

“Goldilocks, what are you on about?“

“Persuading you.“

Buffy managed to undo his belt, button and zipper, and was taking him out. Buffy stroked his cock gently, before pulling her hand back and placing a light kiss on the tip.

“You see, I would only do this with my boyfriend Spike. Are you my boyfriend?“ Buffy traced a vein on his shaft with one finger nail. His cock jumped at her administrations.

“You know it love.“

“’Cause I’d really like to be able to tell everyone else that I have a boyfriend.“

Buffy stuck her tongue out and licked his length from base to tip. Buffy took him in her mouth for the briefest of moments, laving the tip with her tongue.

Buffy let him fall from her mouth and stood up.

“Tease.”

“You haven’t answered my question,” she said removing her top.

Spike reached for her, but she side stepped his advance and ducked to pull his pants all the way down.

“Oy!”

“Answer the question Spike!”

“Fine, bloody fine, ok. After Dru’s all healed up, and everything, We’ll have a bloody dinner party and announce it to all the super friends.”

“See that wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

Buffy sank to her knees and took him in her mouth again.

Spike’s eyes rolled back in his head. “God your hot little mouth.”

“Mmm hmmm” Buffy hummed.

Buffy reached forward and started fondling his balls, earning a groan of appreciation from Spike.

Spike grabbed the sides of her head, keeping her in place as he thrust gently into her mouth. Buffy dug her nails into his ass with her free hand, deep throating him. It wasn’t long before she felt his ball tighten up.

“Oh fuck Buffy!“ he roared as he shot his load.

Buffy swallowed rapidly, then letting him fall from her mouth, stood up with a big smile.

“My turn!“ she said gleefully.

tbc...