Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters belonging to the show are property and creations of M.E. and not me.

Author’s Notes: Much thanks to slaymesoftly, who really REALLY made this chapter readable, because I messed it up so very badly. Also, much much thanks to my wonderful readers, those that review, and those that have given support since the beginning of Seven Days.
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It was a warm, sunny day, and yet everything seemed so bitterly cold.

This was where Buffy would normally be wearing a silky-looking sundress, with thin straps, and high-heeled sandals. Instead, she found herself wanting to cover as much of her body as she could. She had even gone as far as to wear a light sweater.

The brief glances she got from Dawn were enough to tell her that her sister was worried.

Giles had flown in from England, wanting to be there to reveal the ‘terribly dreadful’ news.

As if her heart hadn’t already been torn.

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The meeting was solemn and boring. Buffy barely paid any attention as Giles explained the trouble Angel had apparently gotten himself into with Wolfram and Hart. The blow was even stronger, once she knew for certain that her first love had fallen also. Wesley she barely remembered, and couldn’t put enough effort into really feeling his death.

She was surrounded. Dawn was sitting to her left, and Andrew across the table. Two of the potentials were on her right, and Giles sat at the head of the table. She could tell he wanted to move closer, but wasn’t quite sure how to comfort her through the bad news.

‘No survivors…the demonic army claimed the lives of Angel, his crew, and –‘

“Spike,” she interrupted suddenly.

Giles glanced up from his papers, squinting at her. “I’m sorry?”

“Spike,” she repeated. “He was killed, too.”

Her watcher looked utterly lost. “Yes…but that was a long time ago, Buffy.”

She shook her head. “He sent me a message…he was brought back, and he was in that fight with Angel…”

“He contacted you?” Andrew’s voice held a trace of excitement.

Buffy’s gaze became cold as it settled on Andrew. When she stared without saying a word for a long moment, he began to shrink back into his seat.

“You knew?” Buffy suddenly demanded. “You knew he was alive, all this time, and you didn’t…?”

He shrank even further into his chair, barely daring to meet her gaze.

Buffy could only shake her head, not even able to conjure up rage where she knew there should be. “Get out,” she said. “Get out of this office…get your things out of my apartment…”

“Buffy!” Dawn sat up straighter and began to protest.

“No.” The Slayer’s voice still had no fire in it. “If he had told me…” She shook her head. “He’s just cost me everything, and betrayed my trust. I don’t want him in my apartment, anywhere near me…” She stood up, her chair toppling over in her haste as she backed away from the table.

“Buffy,” Giles began. “Perhaps you should calm down…”


“I’ve been calm long enough.” She picked up her purse, settling the strap on her shoulder without giving another glance at the others in the room. Then, despite their protests, she left.

It never felt as if first shift was something his body was used to. Of course, William didn’t have an official shift, but would take whatever he could get. Every morning at the crack of dawn, he would rise and unload crates from the back of trucks and deliver them into bistros all around Rome. He’d work until almost sunset, daily. Considering he didn’t seem to speak a word of Italian, Will thought himself lucky that he’d landed among those who could speak a bit of English.

And ‘landed’ was precisely the right word.

Two weeks earlier he had apparently dropped into existence out of nowhere. He’d been naked and sprawled out on the street, and those he now worked for had stumbled on him, thinking him a possible corpse or victim of robbery.

Luckily, he hadn’t been dead, but he also couldn’t tell if he’d been robbed. In fact, William hadn’t remembered a thing about himself or his life before, aside from vaguely remembering his first name. The face he saw in the mirror was a stranger’s. The sharp cheekbones and blue eyes seemed almost foreign. At first, his skin had been almost blindingly pale, but was nothing compared to the bleached-white hair.

He lived with his employers, who were all brothers. Only two of them spoke broken English, so it was always amusing to try to hold a conversation. They were constantly making snide jokes behind his back, and it didn’t take that long to figure out and retaliate with creative hand gestures. He was making a meager amount of money, but was still on his way to at least being able to get on his feet. Some days, he completely forgot that he should be worrying about the big gaping hole in his mind that was his life.

That was, until a reminder slammed into him.

A little blonde plowed right into him, knocking the breath out of his body. He gasped as he looked down at her.

She was fumbling with her purse, looking shaky and wrapped up in too much clothing for the warm weather. Her hair was scattered around a tear-streaked face, and she wouldn’t look up.

“Oh, god, sorry…” She dropped her cell phone, which had been ringing throughout their encounter.

“’s alright…” He leaned down to pick up the phone. When he stood back up, her wide green eyes were finally meeting his; in fact, they seemed to be seeking his out with a strange desperation.

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Buffy hadn’t been looking at anything. Nothing else had mattered except escaping her treacherous friends and their uncaring attitude towards the one she’d loved and lost – twice. Or, was it three times?

So preoccupied with her thoughts, she nearly jumped a foot in the air when her cellphone rang. Sighing, she took it out of her pocket, wondering if her sister was trying to contact her already.

Instead, it was The Immortal’s number that showed up on the screen. The Slayer had no doubt that he would want to know why she hadn’t been out with him lately. In fact, after receiving the video tape in the mail, she could barely stand to hear his voice.

Again, she found herself distracted as she debated whether or not she should even answer the phone.

The solid chest she ran right into answered her question.

Embarrassment immediately followed. She was disheveled, her face blotchy, she wasn’t wearing an ounce of makeup, and she had just realized that there were unwanted tears on her face. Of course, none of those were quite as bad as just carelessly running into pedestrians. “Oh, god, sorry!”

“’s alright.”

She felt numb. The voice had sent a shock through her entire body, followed by a longing shiver. The accent was so close…

When she looked up, the world seemed to stand still. Her dream was standing in front of her. She knew he was flesh and blood, because she’d run into it.

He bent down to retrieve her forgotten phone, and held it out towards her. He was standing just in the shade, but it still would have been far too bright for a vampire. And the slight darkening of his skin suggested that the sun was no longer something forbidden to him.

His white hair hadn’t changed much, except that it wasn’t slicked back as it normally was, and the darker roots were beginning to show. The high, sharp cheekbones were impossible to mistake, and his lips were just as full and looked just as soft as Buffy remembered. The blue eyes looked pale in such bright light. He was squinting at her almost suspiciously, before he waved a hand in front of her face. It was then she realized that she had been staring open-mouthed.

“You alright?”



She was still staring at him, and it was beginning to make him nervous. Just when he was about to hand her the phone and walk away, she seemed to snap out of her daze.

“Wha…? Uh…yeah.” Swallowing hard, she reached forward, taking her phone.

The moment her fingers came in contact with his, he couldn’t breath. Will gasped, but otherwise couldn’t move. The world consisted only of the blonde in front of him, as memories bombarded him out of nowhere.


…“I remember at least part of the battle…the army, many good tussles…and then the necklace…it started hurtin.” He frowned. “Burning.”

Buffy nodded. “The necklace worked,” she explained. “It’s actually what turned the tide so much.” She spoke the next words softly. “You’re what turned the tide.”…

~~~

…He kissed the top of her head, then brushed her hair off of her neck and let his fingertips stroke the bare flesh gently. “I think I’ve somehow found myself in heaven.”

Buffy smiled softly. “Heaven is a basement in my house, huh?”

Spike kissed her forehead, and then brushed his lips gently over her closed eyelids before laying his head back and allowing himself to rest. “Heaven is wherever you are.”…
~~~


…Spike kept his eyes closed, but leaned in to her touch. Buffy could still hear the sorrow in his voice. “I can never make it right.”

She pressed her body to his, then placed her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him gently closer, so that their faces were only inches apart. “I forgive you, Spike.”…

~~~


…Gasping, Buffy threw her head back and moaned loudly as he started to suckle on her clit. His fingers had thrust hard into her tight, wet pussy and were tormenting her to no end. The fingers were taking on a quick rhythm, plunging into her repeatedly while he tongued her nub in quick circles, just the way he knew she loved. Buffy’s body was shaking with the pleasure of it, and in less then no time she was crying out his name, her inner muscles squeezing his fingers while her entire body shuddered in her orgasm…

~~~


…The Slayer ran at him full speed, ignoring the projectiles that bounced off of her head. Soon Spike was out of ammo and tossed the plastic gun aside. Buffy leapt at him, tackling him at full force and sending them both crashing into the shelves, sending the shelf toppling over, and bean bags and stuffed animals crashing down on top of them, burying them under the fluffy and colorful mess..

~~~


…He smiled, beginning to notice some of her tension. “It doesn’t suit us.”

Buffy gave a slight pout. “But it’s a nice song…”

“Exactly,” Spike interrupted. “It’s a nice song. It’s pretty, and clean, and easy to swallow. It doesn’t suit us at all.”…


~~~


…Buffy smiled and pulled him gently closer by the lapels of his jacket, so their bodies were touching. She turned her head and brushed a tender kiss across the palm of his hand before looking him straight in the eye again. “I love you…

~~~


…“You lied.”

Her eyes widened. “I did not! I didn’t forget it…”

“Yes, you did,” he interrupted with a slightly raised voice. “You forgot it every chance you got. You especially forgot when we were together. Every time you didn’t want to believe that I could love you, you took a real good look at the monster that I had been, and never gave a single thought to the man who would have let himself be killed that night, just to make sure you wouldn’t have to face the pain of loosing your sister!”…

~~~


…Spike moved close to her. He was still wearing his clothes, even his leather duster. His clothes and his skin were warm from the morning stroll, but luckily nothing was crispy. Buffy snuggled close to him, grabbing hold of the lapels of his duster and burying her face against his chest. “You came back…I didn’t know if you would…”

~~~



…His grin was downright evil when he removed his hand. She glared at him but he only winked back as he slowly slid her panties down her legs. Instead of tossing them into the pile, however, he slipped them into the back pocket of his jeans. Buffy raised an eyebrow.

“Told you.”

He looked down at her questioningly. “What?”

“Panty fetish.”…

~~~


…A sound from above alerted him to another presence. Spike looked up just in time to see the Slayer perched on the edge of the roof of the house he was standing beside. His eyes widened and he moved to dodge, but was too late. She tackled him from above, sending them both sprawling onto the grass. They rolled, struggling for dominance in their little dance. Finally, the Vampire ended up on top and jumped up again, holding his bundle protectively to his chest…


~~~




…“’Dear Diary’” he read off, always keeping just out of her reach. “’Why are the cute ones always dead?’”

She dove right over the table and tried to snatch the book from his hand. The vampire held it up right out of her reach and grabbed onto her shoulder so she wouldn’t fall face first onto the floor. Once she tried to rise on her own feet again, he grabbed her towel and yanked it from her. He then took off running towards the kitchen.

Buffy squealed in protest, but didn’t bother trying to find something else to cover herself. She took off after Spike, murder in her eyes…


~~~


…He grinned. “I thought, ‘This one’s different.’” He flipped them over suddenly, so that he was on top. He pinned her naked body beneath him, looking down at her with passion and tenderness all at the same time. There was even wonder creeping up into his gaze as he studied her. “She’s different from the rest. She’s got a fire that the other slayers couldn’t even touch. I remember…one of my very first thoughts about you…’Beware, mate…if you’re not careful, she’ll burn you all up.’”…

~~~

…“Stay…” She whispered softly to him.

“Hmm?” Spike gently traced his fingers through her soft hair.

“Stay…stay here…stay with me.” Her tears fell against his shoulder. “Please…you have to stay with me.”…


~~~


…Spike grinned, some of his wicked humor returning. He curled his tongue behind his teeth, raising an eyebrow. “You know you can’t get rid of me, Slayer…” Some of the vulnerability returned to his gaze. “Remember me?”

The Slayer’s vision blurred with unshed tears. She breathed hard for a moment to compose herself. “How could I not?”

He smiled softly at her, reaching up and gently tracing his fingers through her hair. He moved the tips of his fingers over her cheek again, then across her lips. “I love you, Buffy…now let me go.”…

~~~



She was still staring at him. The blonde still stood watching him as he was bulldozed by memories. It felt as if he had been immersed in his own mind for days, but when he looked around, he realized it must have been only moments.

“Are you ok?” she asked him suddenly.

William nodded. “Yeah…”


Looking down at her, he felt passion flare to life. His body ached for her, and his heart screamed her name. He noticed her bottom lip trembling as she kept her eyes on his, and wanted to capture it in his mouth, stroke it with his tongue as he swept her off her feet and carried her away to…

‘Easy there, Will,’ he warned himself. ‘Right good way to run the woman off. Just say: Pardon me Madam, but I seem to have nonsensical memories of you and would very much like to experience the taste of your quim again…’

He shook the thought away, and swallowed hard. “Would you…” She jumped at the sound of his voice, and he stifled a grin. “My shift’s over…” He nodded towards a small group of men gathered around a truck down the road. “Would you…care to get something to eat? I know it must be odd-“

“Yeah,” she said suddenly. “Yeah…I really would.” Buffy’s smile was brighter than the sun.

Her cell phone dropped from her hands again, but neither of them seemed to notice.

Reaching out, she took his hand in hers. Both of them felt a thrill from the slightest touch of the other. Their fingers laced together, before their eyes met again.

William took a step forward, but then stopped suddenly. He looked down at the sidewalk, and realized he was just an inch away from leaving the shade. Looking down at the small hand in his, it seemed like a momentous occasion.

The Slayer also noticed his hesitance towards the sunlight. “Its ok,” she told him. “We can-“

Before she could finish, he took another step forward. His white hair glinted and his smile widened, before he turned back to look over his shoulder at her.

Buffy looked down at their hands, clasped tightly together in the sunlight. She smiled again as she looked up at him. She then stepped out of the shade, following him.