Author’s Note: So it ends. Big thanks to Kar for her beta work and advice, to my readers and reviewers, to herself for reccing this story, and to the Barbs for their advice and encouragement without which I would have given up on this story. Also, wasn’t there an arc in Moonlighting where Maddie had a miscarriage, complete with a shmoopy scene where they’re trapped in an elevator while ‘Be My Baby’ plays over the speakers? Maybe that’s why my brain conjured up ‘Addison’ for David’s last name. Now, on with the story…
Chapter Nine
Buffy smiled down at Spike, then leaned down to kiss him before rolling off with a happy sigh. He shifted to get a better view of her, all flushed and smiling. "Welcome home."

"It's good to be back." He relaxed into the mattress, gathering his strength for the next round.

"I missed you," she sighed in her bedroom confessions voice. "I was scared, I didn't know where you'd gone or why," she admitted. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

His dead heart swelled, as it always did when she bared herself so. It made him sad though, that she'd even entertained the thought that he might have gone under his own power. Not that he hadn't gone before, but the circumstances were so different and even then he'd left word with Dawn.

"If I promise not to go anywhere, will you take off the chains, pet?"

She pouted at him. "I thought you liked the chains?"

"I do, Buffy, but it rather limits the number of things I can do to you," he replied, curling his tongue behind his teeth.

"Good point," she agreed. She stretched and rolled over to riffle through the drawer for the keys. He watched her move, enjoying the feel of being back in their bed, in their house, their things strewn over the bedside tables, her perfumes and brushes scattered over the dresser. So different from the austere room of the other Buffy. Even her scent was slightly different.

"You're thinking about her," his Buffy accused as she opened the manacles.

He drew her in close and buried his face in her neck. "She wasn't you, love. Well, she was, but she wasn't. Sad, lonely thing."

"You're worried about her," she whispered, stroking his back. "Doesn't she have her own Spike?"

He considered what to tell her. Nothing about the lost child. So many things the other Buffy hadn't that his took for granted, but the one thing she had that his didn't... "Need to keep an eye on David," he blurted.

She pulled back and wrinkled her nose at him. "David? Watcher David? Why? He's great with the girls. They love him."

"Right. Need to make sure that's not a problem." True, their young Addison seemed safe enough, but he knew too well that appearances could be deceiving. "And no, she doesn't really have a Spike. Well, maybe now if he can pull his head out his arse, but she hasn't had, not for some time."

Buffy squirmed her way into his lap and pushed his head back so she could look him in the eye. "So, I'm the lucky Buffy." She pressed her forehead to his. "I think I already knew that."


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Six weeks later


Rose was in fine form, doing a great job of showing Lily and Deirdre what a fully-trained slayer should look like in battle. She was going to make an excellent addition to the New York squad. Until Faith came off maternity leave, they really needed another skilled slayer up there.

"You're ready," Buffy told her happily when the skirmish was done. "You're really ready."

Rose ducked her head a little, but then gave the older slayer a huge grin. "Finally! I am so ready to be on my own. Not that I don't love you guys, but man, I want my own room." She twirled her stake to shake the dust off. "All that extra training with Spike probably helped. It's been nice having him around more."

"Yeah," Lily agreed. "I heard a rumor that he might be coming out to Cleveland permanently."

Buffy tried to hide her smile. "Maybe," she agreed.

"Well, he's been here like every other week for the past month," Deirdre pointed out. "He might as well. Did he have some big falling out with Angel? I heard they don't get along real well."

Lily shook her head. "No, I heard he has a girlfriend up here. I mean, that's what Andrew said when he was in town last week. He was really, you know, theatrical about it. Something about beauty and the beast and an epic story of, you know, whatever."

"Well, I'm just glad," Rosie concluded.

Buffy bid the girls good-night and left them to their gossip. When she got home the lights were already on. His jacket was tossed over a chair, and there were two dented trunks by the door, which was a lot more luggage than he usually brought. "You're early," she pointed out.

"Switched to an earlier flight," he explained. Angel had made it clear he was done loaning out the jet if Spike was going to keep flying back and forth to wine and dine and fight with her. "How was patrol?"

"Fine." She sat on the couch and tucked her legs up. He threw an arm over the back of the couch with all the subtlety of a teen on his first date. With a little more finesse, she let her head drop back so that it was resting against his bare arm. "Lots of gossip about your mysterious visits."

"Not visiting anymore," he informed her. "Gave my notice."

"So I finally managed to steal you away from Angel?" she teased.

"Only had to ask, slayer."

Buffy really wasn't sure that was true. In fact she was certain there was a time when such a request would have fallen on deaf ears. Even after his first couple of visits, she hadn't been all that sure of what he wanted. He was so hands-off, but then he'd been like that since the soul. When she finally had asked him if he'd ever consider moving out to Ohio, he had looked at her like she'd just handed him the moon. Should she have asked him over that first drink together? Was their some split-off universe where she had?

She was giving herself a headache. If she kept second-guessing every little decision, she'd make herself crazy in a hurry. Still... "Do you wish I had asked sooner?"

He shrugged. "No point in wishing the past was different." He smirked at her. "Or if there is some point, better not to explore the option. Besides, this now isn't so bad, is it?"

"No, it's really not." So she had done the right thing with the waiting. Now though, she was getting tired of the waiting. She traced the seam in his jeans with a fingernail, high enough up his thigh to make his eyes go all glassy. "If you're going to be staying in town... did you want to stay here?"

His answer was to kiss her, and she almost laughed with relief. Then she just concentrated on kissing him back, thinking how much she'd missed his kisses, and wondering how she'd stopped herself from mauling him all these weeks and wondering just how many damn buttons his fly had.

"As you wish," he teased when she pulled away for air.

She rolled her eyes, then gave him a serious look. "What do you wish, Spike?"

He quirked an eyebrow and her and leaned forward to whisper something in her ear.

Fully aware that she was blushing, she stood and pulled him to his feet and toward the stairs. "I think we can manage that without supernatural intervention," she assured him.

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Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed. I’ve got a couple of ideas rolling around in my head, so I hope to have a new story posting soon…