*~*

Buffy sat at the conference table, chewing the end of her pen as Angel discussed the latest and greatest threat in Los Angeles. She had gone back to work almost immediately and while she had jumped back into the position with both feet, she didn’t overdo it. The responsibilities had been delegated and so far, the most damage done to anyone in Assassination had been a broken bone. And that was because they shut their fingers in a car door.

Glancing across the table, she saw Spike watching her and playfully stuck her tongue out at him. A few days earlier he had given all of her luggage to Goodwill while she was working. She had been leaving the break room with a stale donut and a cup of coffee when she saw them hauling it through the lobby. Her heart had flipped a little, unsure of what to make of it, until Spike had eased his arms around her and whispered, “Just a precautionary measure.”

She laughed about it for over an hour. Then she had set about proving to him that he shouldn’t have worried at all.

“Buffy?” Angel said for the third time.

“Slayer, pay attention!” Spike scolded, pretending that he hadn’t been distracting her by sticking his own tongue out and flicking it enticingly.

“Huh?” she asked, still staring at the bleach blond vampire who was making her squirm.

“A bezoar. Didn’t you fight one in Sunnydale?” Angel did a very good job of acting like he had not seen the exchange, but a small smile tugged the corners of his mouth.

“Yeah, right. It was hatching eggs.” She tore her gaze away from Spike. “Nasty thing. Brainwashed Willow and Cordy.”

“We’ve got another one. It’s not at the brainwashing stage yet, but it’s getting close. How did you kill it?”

“I let it eat me.”

“Come again?” Spike said, scarred eyebrow arching menacingly.

“It swallowed me and I hacked it to bits from the inside. Sorta like in ‘Men in Black’ when Tommy Lee Jones lets the big roach eat him so he can go in and get his gun from its stomach. Just like that.”

“I think I regret that you have so much time for television.” Angel handed her the file in his hand. “Go get ate.”

“I’m on it.” Buffy stood. She glanced over at Davies, who was looking expectantly at her. “Posse up, Wingman. Bring some sharp stuff.”

“You got it!” Davies grinned, gathering up his things and leaving the room.

Buffy leaned down, kissing Spike on the cheek. “I may be a little late. It’s all the way in the valley.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he whispered, then pulled her down for a proper kiss.

She promised and left. Dispatching the bezoar was easy enough and she actually avoided being eaten. She had to give Davies a lot of the credit. He had attacked it, ripping it to a pulp that even she had to admire. On their way back to the car, he said, “So, did you hear about Christine?”

Buffy nodded. “She’s coming back to work next week. I think she needed the time away. You kept in touch with her all this time, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. We talked a lot on the phone.”

“What’s ‘a lot’?”

“Every couple of days.” He shrugged. “Did you know that we worked the bomb squad together years ago? I actually got her the job at Wolfram and Hart and introduced her to Miles.”

“I didn’t know that! She never told me!”

“She got out of the field when her partner died and said she’d never go back.” Davies loaded the bag-o-weapons into the back of the SUV. “I can’t wait to see her again.”

Raising an eyebrow, she studied him. It was too soon for Christine to even contemplate moving on, but Buffy had a strong suspicion that Davies would be there when she was ready and would probably be a strong anchor for her during the wait.

They drove back in comfortable silence and the moon was beginning to rise up into the starry sky when they drove past the beach. Buffy glanced out the window, watching the surf. Something caught her eye and she said, “Let me out here.”

Davies saw what she was looking at and smiled. “Good thing you didn’t get messy.”

She grinned and shut the door, jogging over the sand towards Spike, who was wading, knee deep in the water. He smiled when he saw her and she quickly kicked off her own shoes and rolled up her pants, joining him. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“I was waiting for you.”

Buffy kissed him and said, “The last time we did this we were in formal wear and you asked me if life was good. It’s my turn.” She perfected an accent just like his. “Life is good, innit?”

“It’s good.” He pulled her against him and stared down at her. “It always will be.”

“Forever?”

“Forever’s a really long time,” he said in a low voice, acting like he was contemplating it all.

“That’s true. I really should consider all my options.” Buffy shrugged and pulled away only to be rewarded with Spike kicking water at her. “Hey!”

He chuckled and did it again. She bent down, cupping a handful and sending it flying into his face. He responded by picking her up and dunking her and when she came up she was shrieking with laughter. Within seconds, they were both soaked to the skin and were grappling for dominance. They wrestled until Buffy was breathless and she staggered, waterlogged, to the beach and sat down. “No fair! I actually worked today.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Spike flopped down next to her. “I still won.”

“You did. You got a very cold, very wet Slayer as a prize and you can’t give it back.”

“No way in hell I’d want to.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder and took his hand, staring out at the stars reflecting over the calm ocean. “Wanna know a secret?”

“You want me right here on the beach?”

“That’s NOT a secret, Spike.”

“Tell me.”

“You were right. I did push you away and I’ll never do it again. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

He grinned, kissing her on the forehead. “That’s not a secret, either. Of course I am.”

“The secret is that I finally realized it. The *Slayer* finally realized it.” Buffy reached up, brushing his curling hair off his forehead. “I’m sorry it took so long.”

“Let’s go home, baby.” He stood and held out a hand.

She let him pull her to her feet. “In case I haven’t mentioned it before ... ”

"I know. You love it when I call you that."

"You actually *do* listen to me."

Hand in hand, they walked back to Wolfram and Hart, ignoring the way the night crew elbowed one another when Spike swung her up into his arms and carried her into the elevator.

Angel stepped to one side, grinning at the two of them, but said nothing. When they exited onto their floor, he started to tell them to have a wonderful night, but he could see in their faces that they already planned to. He accepted it. Encouraged it. And knew that he had surrendered her into very capable, loving hands.

-The End