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CHAPTER 3
Slayer


Buried to her eyes in warm blankets, Buffy blinked groggily, trying to adjust her eyes to the dim light filtering through the curtains. She groaned when the new found awareness also woke the evil headache that seemed to have only been waiting for her to open her eyes before starting to jump up and down in her skull.

She risked a glance to the right to see if Spike was awake. If he was, he’d probably be suffering as much as she was and would be in a foul mood. Or maybe not since he did have that vampire constitution going for him.

He was sprawled on his stomach, the white sheet riding low on his hips. Buffy almost forgot her headache at the sight of him. She sighed and got out of bed, careful not to wake him. It was only eleven o’clock but she didn’t want to waste her entire first day in bed. Especially not to do something as boring as sleeping. Now, if there was another reason for her to stay in bed all day…

She scolded herself for the direction her thoughts were taking and hurried to the bathroom to freshen up. When she walked out half an hour later, she was decked in khaki low-rider cargo pants and a white solid tank covering her candy pink bikini, her hair in a high ponytail, sunglasses on top of her head. She was ready for a long, exhausting day doing absolutely nothing.

Spike was lounging on the bed with his arms crossed casually behind his head, his bluer than blue eyes watching her as she came out of the bathroom.

“Morning, Slayer.” He drawled lazily, his voice thick with sleep.

“Morning, vampire.” She snapped back at him. It came out harsher than she intended, but for some reason, his use of the word ‘Slayer’ hurt her.

“Someone is grumpy.” He said, frowning in confusion at her unexplained outburst. “What’s the matter, pet? You don’t like when I call you ‘Slayer’?”

“Why should I? It’s pretty much like me calling you ‘vampire’ or calling Xander ‘human’.”

“No it isn’t.”

“It so is. The Slayer is what I am, not who I am. And it brings back memories of a time when we were not so much with the friendlies.”

“I happen to like our past.” He said so softly that she barely heard him. “It brought us to where we are today, didn’t it? If I hadn’t come to Sunnyhell years ago hell bent on finding the Slayer and a cure for my ex, I would have never met you.”

She shrugged a bit, looking down. “Yeah, guess you’re right. But it doesn’t change the fact that you usually use that nickname when we’re arguing or when you’re trying to look detached and uncaring. I don’t like it.”

Spike smirked and patted the bed next to him. Buffy reluctantly came to sit. “You got it all wrong.”

“Oh, I did, did I?” She couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips. “Why don’t you explain it to me then? I’m afraid I’m a little slow. It comes with the whole dumb blonde persona I got going on.”

“Don’t say that. You’re not dumb. Anyway, it’s all in the way the word is said. I can make that one word mean whatever I want it to mean. Why don’t you let me demonstrate?”

“Fine. Demonstrate away.”

Spike‘s facial expression hardened. “Ssslayer!” He hissed through clenched teeth, spitting out the word with something akin to disgust and hatred.

Buffy’s eyes grew cold instantly, her whole body tensing up with anger.

But then his face softened noticeably and he leaned closer until his lips touched her earlobe, and said it again. The word was silky and loving, his voice a soft purr that made her shiver from head to toe. And as much as she tried to repress it, she didn’t manage to stop the girly giggle from escaping her lips.

Spike leaned back against the headboard, arms behind his head and grinning in self-satisfaction. “I rest my case.”

Buffy rolled her eyes, hoping she wasn’t blushing like a school girl. Now that’d be embarrassing. She stood up.

“All right. You can have this one.”

Spike put his hand over his heart in mock surprise. “Is the mighty Slayer letting me win an argument? That’s a first.”

“Only because I don’t have time to keep defending my point. The sun is waiting.”

She started moving around the room again, shoving random items into her beach bag.

Spike was looking at her curiously. “Are you really going to need all that junk? I thought all you needed to survive the whole bloody beach experience was sun tanning lotion, a towel and sunglasses?”

Buffy snorted in amusement. “And when was the last time you’ve been at the beach exactly? 1880? Things have changed since.”

“Yeah, go ahead. Mock the poor vamp with a severe sun allergy.”

“Sorry. I need all that ‘junk’ because it’s easier to bring too much stuff than come back if I forget something. And there’s nothing I’m taking that I won’t need. SPF 40 for my face, SPF 15 for the first couple of hours, then I’ll move to SPF 8 for the rest of the day. I also need entertainment.”

He watched her putting three books in the bag. “How long are you planning on being gone?! Bloody Hell, you’ve got enough reading material to last you a month!”

“I don’t know what I’ll feel like reading. What if I bring one, and when I get there, I feel like reading the other one? And I’m bringing my CD player in case I just don’t feel like reading at all. I got it all covered.”

Spike shook his head, smiling. “Crazy bint.”

“Oh! My camera.” Buffy suddenly remembered.

She started looking through her luggage for the missing camera, but not being successful, she soon lost patience and started emptying the content of her bags onto the floor.

“What the bleedin’ hell are you doing, luv?” He finally asked after he heard her swearing under her breath.

She turned around, a distressed look on her face. “I… I think I forgot my camera. Xander gave it to me the night before we left because I didn’t have one. I must have left it on my night stand.”

Spike couldn’t stand seeing her looking so disappointed. “S’all right, luv. Give me my jeans.”

She handed him the jeans that were on the back of the armchair and he fished his wallet out of the pocket. He gave it to her. “Here. There’s a souvenir shop near the lobby, maybe they sell cameras. If not, we’ll go into town tonight.”

“Really?” She asked in a hopeful voice while looking into the wallet. She found several hundred dollar bills in it. “What’s all that money for?”

“You. I figured you might get bored of staying here all the time and you’d want to go into town at some point. Change of scenery and all. Maybe go to a fancy restaurant or take excursions. So I brought some spending cash. Didn’t steal it if that’s what you’re thinking. I won it fair and square at a poker game.”

She smiled at him. “Fair and square, huh? I have my doubts. Anyway, thanks.”

“Yeah, don’t mention it. Just need to make my Slayer happy. Now go before the sun set and you miss out on all the fun.”

Buffy put her beach bag on her shoulder and made her way to the door. When she reached it, she hesitated. “Are you gonna be all right? What are you gonna do here all by yourself all day?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Spike said playfully, winking at her. “Don’t worry, pet. I’ll be fine. I’ll go back to sleep for a while, watch some telly and call room service if I get too bored. You forget that I’m used to being stuck inside all day. It’s not any different than back home… well, except that I don’t have room service there, of course.”

“OK then, I’ll see you later.”

And after one last look at him, she was gone.

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Buffy made her way to the hotel lobby with a spring in her step. She stopped on the way to admire the brightly colored exotic flowers and watch people who were strolling leisurely, in vacation mode. Couples were walking by, laughing and holding hands. She longed for that, but couldn’t let herself think about it too much or it would ruin her good mood. Finally, she walked into the main building where the lobby was located.

Three steps led from the garden to the inside. It was a vast open space with a marble floor and high ceilings. On one side of the lobby was a bar with brass and black leather stools where people were enjoying coffees and talking animatedly, laughing and smiling. Next to the bar were two large wooden doors that led into the main restaurant of the resort. The doors were open and a hostess was standing there to welcome people. Buffy decided to go grab something to eat.

The young woman smiled warmly at her. “Aloha!”

“Aloha.”

“One person?”

“Huh… yeah.”

“Follow me, please.”

Buffy was about to walk in when a tall woman with thick, long, black hair, followed by a shorter man, almost knocked her out of her way.

“Geez, rude much?” Buffy mumbled under her breath.

She turned to look at them, only to see the man looking back at her appraisingly. Buffy snorted in disgust and followed the hostess who led her to a table. As soon as she sat down, a waitress came to offer her some coffee.

“You know what, I’ve changed my mind, I’m not going to stay. I’ll just grab a muffin at the buffet or something. No need to get the table dirty for me.”

The waitress smiled and walked away. Buffy went to see what the buffet had to offer her and opted for a bagel and an apple. She didn’t want to waste anymore time inside when she could be outside enjoying the sun and the ocean. And she still had to stop by the gift shop to see if they had cameras. So with the apple held between her teeth and the bagel in hand, she left the restaurant. She crossed the lobby while munching on her apple and went to where the gift shop was located, next to the check-in counter.

She was about to open the French door that had the sign ‘open’ on it but someone walked out as she was reaching for the handle. Once again, she was faced with the dark haired woman who seemed to be expecting Buffy to move out of her way.

**Who died to make her Queen?** Buffy thought, annoyed. But this time, instead of stepping aside to let the woman pass, she moved in her way. She smiled innocently up at her.

“Oops, I’m sorry. Am I in your way?”

The woman gave her a cold look, before finally smiling. But there was nothing nice about her smile and it only made Buffy uneasy.

“I’m terribly sorry,” She said with a thick Italian accent. “It seems we keep bumping into each other.”

Before Buffy could think of something to say, a man called the woman’s name to get her attention.

“Carlita, are you coming?”

“Yes dear.“ The tall Italian woman looked at Buffy as if she was studying her, but the expression on her face was unreadable. Buffy was about to ask her what the hell she was looking at, but just like that, she was gone.

**Freak** She thought while watching the woman’s retreating back.

Snapping out of her contemplation, she walked into the store.

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The beach was amazing. Miles and miles of white sand stretched in both directions as far as she looked and the water was pure turquoise. This was heaven. OK, not literally because, hey… been there, done that, and nothing could compare. But it was pretty close. People were surfing a little further down, where the waves were stronger, and Buffy wondered briefly if she could do that. But she quickly dismissed the thought. Not today. Today was for relaxing and doing absolutely nothing at all. Yep, that was the plan.

She chose a secluded spot to spread her towel and stripped down to the cute little bikini she had bought just for the trip. Too bad the only person she wanted to seduce wasn’t around to see it. Taking a bottle of coconut scented tanning lotion, she covered every inch of her golden skin with it, then lay down on her towel with a blissful sigh. This was THE life, she thought happily.

Buffy closed her eyes, enjoying the warm caress of the sun on her skin. In a matter of seconds, she was fast asleep.

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