True to her word, Joyce was silent as a wraith as she completed her morning routines. Both Spike and Buffy were still asleep when she left for work and she hoped they’d keep their promises and play nicely while she was away.

Buffy woke from a dreamless sleep and glanced at her clock. Eleven a.m., so her mother was gone already. The voices downstairs must be her vampire watching TV. She made her way downstairs and plopped next to Spike on the couch. He was sitting up, his broken leg propped on the coffee table.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he responded.

“Can I fix you some blood?”

“Sure, luv. That’d be good.” She got up and he watched her sweet little ass sway as she walked into the kitchen. He sighed and willed his erection to go away. After all, he’d made a promise to Joyce. The object of his affection returned with a tray laden with 2 mugs and a bowl of cereal. She handed him one of the mugs and asked if he wanted cereal, too.

“Have any Weetabix?”

“Uh…I don’t think so. Will Special K do?”

“No thanks, then. Nothing adds texture like Weetabix.”

“I’m not even going to ask what you mean by that because it sounds gross.”

They shared a brief laugh and things got quiet. Neither knew quite how to begin the conversation that they needed to have. Finally Buffy cleared her throat.

“I, uh, had a talk with my mom last night.”

“Yeah, me, too.” A look of surprise flashed across her face as she turned to face him.

“When?” she asked.

“Heard most of what you said last night. Your mum knew I was awake and made me promise to keep my hands to myself. I think she’s still got that axe somewhere, and she’s not afraid to use it.” He was pleased to see a smile on Buffy’s face.

“She can be pretty scary, can’t she?” Spike nodded. “So do you think we can do this for a few days? Be platonic?” she asked.

Spike looked at her seriously. “Don’t want to, but I don’t want to disrespect you or Joyce, so I’ll be a good boy.” He was thrown against the back of the couch when Buffy threw her arms around him.

“Thank you,” she whispered, and placed an innocent kiss on his cheek.

Talk then turned to his blood supply. He’d already gone through half the supply from Willy’s and still wasn’t completely healed. He thought the rest of the human blood would be adequate for him, but would only last through one more night, so Buffy showered and went to the butcher’s while Spike napped some more.

When he woke again Buffy had been home for awhile and they proceeded to spend pleasant afternoon together, playing cards and watching TV.

Her mother was not yet home from work when the Scooby phone began ringing, Xander having told the tale of their previous evening’s adventure as soon as he was home from work. Buffy invited the gang over so she’d only have to answer all the questions at once.

And when they were all assembled, she was bombarded.

“What is he still doing here?”
“Have you forgotten that he was going to betray us to Adam?”
“You let him stay here all night?”
“Why are you even helping him?”

“Enough!” she shouted, banging her fist on the coffee table. She got an admiring look from Spike when the rest her friends flinched and closed their mouths. “We made another truce, we patrolled together, he saved me, then I saved him. Why can’t you guys get that?”

“Obviously, none of us trust Spike quite like you do, and I cannot fathom why you continue to make truces with him, knowing he will only betray you again.” Giles voice was stern and grim, trying to get his point across.

“You do realize, Giles, that you’re only alive because of the first truce I made with him?”

Willow’s gasp was the only sound in the quiet room after Buffy dropped that bombshell.

“What could you possibly mean by that?” asked the Watcher.

“It was part of our deal, Rupert,” Spike decided it was time to speak up. “I just wanted to take Dru and leave this sodding town, and the Slayer would only cooperate if I made sure you stayed alive.”

“Yes, well…I seem to remember that it was your idea to have Drusilla put me in thrall, after which I inadvertently gave Angelus the means to open Acathla.”

“Would you rather have let him use the chainsaw on you?” Spike growled.

Giles had no response to this, so changed the subject slightly. “But you agreed to stay away, yet you came back and tried to kill Buffy again.”

“And I’m still suffering the consequences of that, ain’t I?” he spat out, pointing to the back of his head where the chip was implanted.

“But you didn’t learn, bleach boy,” Xander interjected. “You tried to rip us apart so Adam could defeat Buffy, since you couldn’t do it yourself.”

Spike had a retort on his lips when the front door opened and Joyce walked in.

“Oh my!” she exclaimed, her hand flying to her chest. “What’s going on here?”

“We’re just trying to talk some sense into your daughter,” Xander said with his usual bluntness. “We can’t figure out why she keeps making deals with Deadboy Junior over here.”

Joyce shocked everyone, including Spike, when she walked over to him and kneeled at his side. “How are you feeling today, Spike?”

“Uh, much better, Joyce, thanks for asking.” The concern he felt from Buffy’s mother was a welcome relief from the thrashing he was taking from her friends.

Joyce stood and put her hand on his shoulder and turned to the rest of the group. “I know that Spike has not always been on our side, but if he’s watching out for Buffy, that’s all that matters now.”

“How could you be so naïve, Joyce?” Giles sputtered. “Are you telling me you’re okay with allowing this…this restrained killer into your home?”

“Then you might as well ask what you are doing here as well, Rupert. Night after night you send my daughter to fight the monsters. How often are you there to make sure she gets back home?” The older man’s face turned red as he was confronted with the hypocrisy of his position. “For whatever reason, Spike saved Buffy the other night, and for that, I am grateful to him. He may stay here as long as he needs to, and is welcome as long as he behaves himself.” She gave his shoulder a squeeze and would have headed for the kitchen, but found her hand grasped by cooler one.

“Give a bloke a hand, will ya? I need a smoke,” Spike asked. She helped him to his feet and let him put his arm around her shoulder so she could walk him out to the porch.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, luv. It was getting a bit thick in there,” he commented, patting down his jeans for his cigs and lighter.

“I know they mean well,” Joyce sighed, “but sometimes they seem so narrow-minded. It probably doesn’t help that you can’t explain your feelings for each other, does it?”

Spike snorted. “Trust me, it’d be even worse if they knew. I’d be a pile of ash on your sofa right about now, no questions asked.

Their quiet interlude was interrupted by the ringing of the phone, so Joyce went into the kitchen to answer it. Spike enjoyed a leisurely puff, inhaling the acrid smoke into his dead lungs, savoring the calming effect it had on him, but what he heard next was the last straw.

“Buffy! Phone! It’s Riley!”

Spike could hear the hubbub of her friends’ voices, Xander’s chief among them, asking if she was going to tell Riley about her houseguest. Add to that the strain of having to listen to her talk to her “boyfriend” while he was being roasted over the coals by her friends, and he was done.

He looked about the porch for something to use as a crutch and saw a broom. Rising from the deck chair and grabbing the broom handle, he slowly made his way down the deck stairs and began the long trek back to his crypt. His duster was still inside the house, but he figured he could come back for it later. His skin itched with the need to be away from this house right now.

But Joyce had other ideas.

“Spike!” she called from the doorway, and the screen banged as she flung it open. It did not take her even a few seconds to intercept him on the lawn. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Have to get out of here. It’s bad enough, having to deal with the lot of her friends, but listening to her talk to Captain Cardboard takes the sodding cake. Thanks for your hospitality, but I’ll be off now.” He tried to move forward, but she blocked his path.

“She doesn’t love him, you know.”

“Yeah, but she’s not telling him about me, either.”

“Would you want to hear about something like that over the phone?”

“Got it flaunted in my face more than once. Might have preferred it by the phone once in a while.”

“She’s just being polite. Okay?” Spike grunted, not moving forward or back, until Joyce took his arm and led him back to the deck.

“I don’t know how serious the two of you are about each other, and to be honest, you wouldn’t be my first choice for her.” Spike felt momentary hurt when Joyce said this, but realized she was indeed being honest. “But she and I have finally come to an understanding about what it means to be the Slayer and the Slayer’s mother. We both know how fragile her life is, and we need to be realistic about what she can accomplish with that hanging over her head. And even in ‘normal’ families, parents and children don’t always see eye-to-eye about what’s best for them.”

She paused for a moment, then continued. “Already I have seen a difference in her, since she became involved with you.” She smiled at Spike’s look of surprise. “She has been more carefree and happy. Riley may seem like a good choice on paper, but she didn’t even introduce me to him until the end of the school year. I know part of that is living on campus and dealing with her calling, but she didn’t feel the need to involve me in that part of her life, which is not a good sign for the relationship. You move her, Spike, and she can let down her hair when she’s with you, which is not something she does easily.”

“You’re just sayin’ that,” he groused, but they both smiled.

“Please stay. We both want you here.”

That almost melted his heart, but he’d never let on. “You just want to make sure we’re not getting out of line.”

“Right. Like playing chaperone to a vampire and a Slayer is how I wanted to spend the next few nights. I guess you’ll just have to realize that we like you and enjoy your company. Now let’s get back inside and fix dinner for the ingrates inside.”

Spike walked with her assistance, but kept his head down. He was the Big Bad and he’d be damned if he let her see the water pooling in his eyes.

^^^^^^^^

Buffy wanted to stop Spike when he left to get a smoke, but she realized that maybe she had a chance at stopping the inquisition if he were absent. She watched him leave with Joyce, casting a keen eye on the progress of his broken leg. She didn’t know much about vampire healing, but if his was anything like hers, the leg would be vastly improved by the next day.

She was just drawing a breath to further address the concerns of her friends when the phone rang. She knew it was probably Riley and she felt like fleeing to the porch to be with Spike, feeling bombarded and pressured from all sides but his. She rose to take the call in the kitchen and she heard Xander asking if she was going to tell Riley about her houseguest and she had to restrain herself from throttling him. Steeling herself, she took the phone from her mother, who gave her a sympathetic smile.

“Hey Riley.”

“Buffy! What’s going on? Sounds like you’re having a party or something over there!”

“Just a Scooby meeting. The gang says ‘hi’ by the way.” Figuring they would have, if there hadn’t been a more important topic of discussion on the table. “What are you up to?”

“Did your mom tell you I’ll be home soon?”

“Yes, she did. It’ll…it’ll be good to see you, Riley.” She cringed when she said that, knowing it would be anything but good.

They chatted about inconsequential matters for a few more minutes before making plans for his arrival. Buffy knew she should meet him at the airport, and since she didn’t want her mother there and she still didn’t have a license, she said she’d take a cab there, and they could catch one back to his place. He said he’d try to call once more before he came home, but left all his flight information just in case they didn’t speak until then.

“I can’t wait to be home, Buffy. It will be so good to see you.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait either.” Liar, she thought to herself.

“Love you, Buff.”

“Me, too.”

She hung up and looked out the kitchen window. Her mom and Spike were walking toward the porch, Spike limping with a broom in his hand. She went outside and took the broom, putting his arm around her shoulder, and they got him back onto the deck. Joyce went back inside to see who wanted to stay for supper, and Buffy and Spike spent a silent moment together.

“So how’s Captain Corn-fed doing?” Spike finally asked.

“He’ll be home in a few days,” she answered quietly. “I’m going to meet him at the airport.”

“And then…?” he prodded.

“And then I break up with him.”

“Sure you’re not going to change your mind when you see his chiseled good looks and hulking muscular body?” he smirked.

“Why? Do you want to date him?” she said slyly.

“Cheeky bint, aren’t you?”

“Okay, listen up, Mr. Pouty.” She had to smile when he affirmed her nickname with his lower lip sticking out. “I want to be with you. Clear enough for you?” She was left breathless a moment later when his pouty features transformed into a look of naked longing and passion.

He answered in a voice heavy with feeling. “Very clear, luv.” Their heads drew closer as each longed for the feel of lips meeting…until a throat-clearing sounded behind them. Joyce stood in the doorway, arms crossed and foot tapping.

“Look, Joyce,” Spike said calmly, “I’m not using my hands. You didn’t say anything about lips.”

Amid Buffy’s giggles, Joyce tried to contain a smile and found her no-nonsense voice. “Nice try, Romeo.” She leveled her gaze at her daughter. “Now get in here and deal with your guests while I fix dinner.”

Slayer and vampire shared a look of frustration before she offered him a hand up and shoulder to lean on. They made their way back to the living room and remained standing while Buffy tried one last time to defend her decision to let Spike recuperate at her house.

“Spike’s here until he’s better. Half the demons in Sunnydale are gunning for him because he helped me, and no, I don’t think he’s playing on my sympathy. I trust him, my mom trusts him, and I ask that you all respect that. Now let me tell you what I found out about the Gorack demons.”

There was brief silence as her friends considered this and they grudgingly agreed to let up. The tension was alleviated somewhat when Joyce served dinner, but Buffy and Spike both breathed a sigh of relief when the last of the Scoobies went home. They’d discussed the Hellmouth worshipping demons and Giles was going to consult his books to look for weaknesses. When it was just the Summers women and Spike, Joyce suggested they watch some movies together, much to the consternation of the thwarted lovers who felt liked they were being chaperoned. Which, in a way, was true.

^^^^^^^^

Spike only took another day to heal up, but Buffy and Joyce convinced him to stay with them a bit longer. The three of them were actually having fun just being together; playing games, watching movies and TV, and visiting. Joyce felt like she was bonding with her daughter for the first time since the divorce. Before it had been all about Buffy sneaking around and wanting to spend time with her friends, then once she found out her daughter was the Slayer, it was nights spent worrying while she was out, and then Buffy went to college.

And she got the impression that Buffy and Spike were grateful for her presence. Buffy felt guilt over Riley, and Spike wanted to be a gentleman, but was so impulsive he’d probably have broken his word by now if Joyce wasn’t around. And they all discovered that they liked each other.

The Scoobies had met once more to make a plan for eliminating the Goracks. If they were surprised to find Spike still with Buffy, they didn’t let on. It seemed the Goracks were afraid of their reflections so the battle would be ridiculously easy. By the following night, several mirrors had been obtained and the group, including Spike, set out for the old high school.

While the rest of the Scoobies held the mirrors in front of them, Buffy ran to the altar and destroyed the Goracks’ sacred relics. Panicked and grief-stricken, the roughly two dozen demons threw themselves into the fissure and that was that. While no one thanked Spike, he was at least included in the post-fight celebration and even had a civil word or two with Giles. Anya also spoke with him, much to Xander’s disdain, and Tara would have been largely ignored except for a conversation Spike struck up with her regarding their favorite authors.

Buffy knew she would still get grief when she told her friends that she and Spike were together, but there seemed to be a grudging acceptance happening at that moment.

^^^^^^^^
It was all too soon when Riley was due to arrive back in Sunnydale and Spike moved back to the crypt. Buffy walked him to the cemetery and tried to reassure him.

“It’ll be done by tomorrow night, Spike. I’ll be a free woman, and then…” Heat infused her body when she thought about the two of them alone, and with no restrictions between them. Spike sensed the change in her body and brought her hand to his lips, lightly kissing her knuckles.

“I’ll be waiting, Buffy,” he said, voice cracking in anticipation. They entered his crypt and found that he’d had some unpleasant visitors during his recuperation. Buffy worked with him to right the furniture that had been knocked over, picked up the shards of broken things that were all over the floor, and gathered the dirty linen from his bed. Something unidentifiable, slimy, and stinky was all over the sheets, and she volunteered to wash them.

Spike had to tell her several times that he’d be okay, and showed her his weapons cache. He placed two of his deadliest and heaviest knives within arm’s reach of his bed, and showed her his fighting form, sparring with her a bit. She had to leave before they got worked up, though, and they clasped hands before she left to do a quick patrol. A couple of surly fledges were all she encountered, so she was still a bit wound up when she arrived home.

She lay in her bed, trying to imagine how she was going to tell Riley she no longer wanted to be with him. She finally let sleep claim her, figuring she’d make it up as she went along.