Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters belonging to the show are not my creations.

Author's Notes: Warning: There's another Spike/Other scene. Aside from that, thank you to DreamsofSpike, my beta and partner in crime.

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Joyce Summers had drunk more than she had in years. Her head was ringing, buzzing, and just plain pounding -- all at once. It had been difficult to hear anything above the painful racket for hours…

…at least, until she heard a footstep upstairs.

She peered up towards the ceiling, holding her breath, and listening for another. There was barely another creak, but she was sure that she had heard the footstep coming from her daughter’s room.

Her daughter was known to sneak out, but Joyce had never been more worried about it. Her head was still dancing with Buffy’s explanations of vampires and monsters, and the reasons why a teenage girl had to go out and put herself in danger every night.

It had all been too much.

Then she had thrown her daughter out. She had told her not to come back, and Joyce cursed the fact that *this* would be the one time Buffy chose to listen to her mother.

Her head throbbed, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

Joyce climbed the stairs gamely, though she tried to be as quiet as she could. At least, until she gave a slight sigh and realized how ridiculous it was for her to sneak around in her own house.

“Buffy?”

There was only silence.

Suddenly, there was a small thud, then another footstep. Joyce quickened her pace, almost running to her daughter’s bedroom door before flinging it open.

The room was empty.

Joyce stepped inside, peering around at every corner, as if her daughter would hide, huddled there from her rage. And yet, rage wasn’t what Joyce was feeling. A growing despair settled over her as she noticed a drawer and the closet open and a few articles of clothing that had fallen to the floor. Most importantly, Mr. Gordo was not sitting on top of the pillows on the bed.

If he was gone, that meant Buffy was most definitely gone.

Putting a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob, Joyce sat down heavily on her daughter’s bed. Where could she look for her? What if she didn’t come back? Buffy was out all alone in a world that Joyce didn’t even recognize anymore. And what was worse was the fact that she had been the one to throw her out into it.

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Willow opened the doors to her balcony, beckoning for her visitor to come in. As Buffy slipped into the room, duffle bag in hand, Willow put a finger to her lips. She closed the balcony doors behind her friend, then crept to her bedroom door and listened for any sound from below. She then closed it, turning to give her friend a tentative smile.

“We just have to try and be quiet,” she whispered. “I’m not quite ready to give the beeswax speech just yet.”

Buffy smiled sadly, placing her bag at the foot of Willow’s bed. “That’s fine, Wills. Thanks a bunch for letting me stay.”

The little redhead was wearing her pajamas. They were a bright purple that did scary things with her hair color. Buffy could only smile.

“So how went patrol?” Willow sat cross-legged on her bed.

Shrugging, Buffy opened her duffle bag and went through it. She had made sure to pack at least one pair of comfy pajamas. She wanted to pretend at least a little that staying over at Willow’s was just another sleepover.

“The usual fledges. I didn’t see Angel…”

“Did your new partner behave himself?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. She had already begun to change, slipping on her pajama bottoms and a tank top. “Partner, right…he didn’t kill anyone, at least. He and his wacky girlfriend are staying locked up in the library until we can find someplace better to keep them.”

“All this is kind of strange.” Willow looked awkward. “What with the…the truce…and the uh…the nakedness…”

Buffy blushed at the memory as she sat down beside her friend. “Yeah, the library’s been seeing a lot of action all of a sudden.”

Willow plucked at her bedspread. “Well, you got to see more than I…” She looked up and blushed as Buffy looked at her with a pale face. “Not…not that that’s good!” Willow quickly corrected. “Naked vampires in the library…naked vampires of any kind, that’s ba-“ She stopped again, remembering Angel. “Well, not all the time bad…just um…I’ll shut up now.” She nodded firmly.

“It’s ok, Will…I understand. Believe me. That was something that I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing.” Buffy rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, just…it was just…boobies!” She slapped a hand over her mouth once she had shouted. She looked toward her bedroom door, making sure no one else was there to see her silliness. “It’s just…they were just…out there.”

Buffy covered her eyes and shook her head. “At least you didn’t have to see Spike’s ass hanging out.”

“Ass of Spike.” Willow nodded in understanding. “Now there’s a new way to look at your mortal enemy.”


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The chains rattled noisily. Drusilla’s screams echoed in the otherwise silent library. Spike’s grunts of pleasure joined them, and the sound of their slapping skin completed the music.

Drusilla gripped the chains hard, her head flung back against the wall. She thrust her hips upward to meet Spike’s, as she reached her second climax of the night, and Spike buried himself deeper inside her, groaning out loud as he reached his own peak. He rested his head against her shoulder, gasping for unneeded air.

“Told you…I’d make it…up to you…” He closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of having his lover back in his arms. He was determined to spend the entire evening taking back what was his.

“My Spike likes to play, even when he’s been a bad dog…” She growled and nipped at his earlobe, tugging it with her teeth. “I shouldn’t let you play. You’ve been so very wicked…but you bring me such nice toys.” She tugged at the chains that bound her wrists.

“I’m glad you like them, baby…” He kissed her chest softly before releasing her. He removed the shackles from Drusilla’s wrists, and then held her tenderly to him while he rested his head on her shoulder again.

Drusilla’s fingers moved through his hair idly. Her gaze was upward, staring at the ceiling as if it were a puzzle.

“I can’t see the stars.”

Spike opened an eye, and then glanced at the ceiling. “That’s because there’s a roof in the way, luv.”

She frowned, looking unconvinced. “I want to see the stars…the naughty children, they want to take the stars from us, take forever from our grasp…don’t let them, my Spike…”


Groaning softly, Spike moved his gaze around their little cell. “Of course not, Dru. I’ll let them do no such thing.”

He laid her down atop his duster before going through the pockets of his discarded jeans. He grinned, pulling out the very bobby pin of the Slayer’s that he had used to pick the locks of stores earlier that night. He crouched down by the door of the cage, reaching his hand through the slot in the center of the door and picking the lock.

“If it’s stars you want, luv, it’s stars you’ll get.”

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Willow had been uncomfortably aware of her friend’s glum expression since she had walked through her balcony door. She continued to watch closely as Buffy stared off into space, barely giving a half-hearted attempt at sleep.

“Can I be nosy for a minute?” Willow asked. “You won’t hate me if I am?”

The blonde smiled softly. “I won’t hate you. Promise.”

“Good.” Willow nodded. “The not hating me is good. What I’m kinda confused about is the Xander-hating.”

Her green eyes hardened. She avoided looking straight at Willow. Instead, she stared up at the ceiling, not answering.

Willow turned onto her side, watching the Slayer closely. “Something happened…what was it, Buffy? Things were fine before I got out of the hospital…then suddenly there’s this big wall between you two…and all the glaring, and the cold shoulder…”

Buffy pursed her lips, and then shook her head. “It’s not important…really.”

“If it’s doing this to you two, then it kind of is.”

“It’s just…” Buffy sighed, finally rolling onto her side to face her best friend. “He didn’t tell me, Willow…he didn’t tell me about the spell. He made me think that you wanted me to kill Angel…he didn’t let me know that you were going to re-ensoul him…”

Willow frowned, biting her bottom lip. “Why would he…?”

“He hates Angel.” Buffy rolled her eyes. “That’s why…and I can understand it. I can, really…but…he’s the only one he thought of…he might not have agreed with bringing Angel back…but what if you’d succeeded?” There was a faint tremor in her voice. “What if you’d brought him back, but it had ended up being too late? What if I had to kill him anyway, all because I didn’t know you were trying to bring him back in the first place? What if I wasn’t killing Angelus? What if I was killing *Angel*?”

The redhead scooted closer to her friend on the bed, reaching out to wrap an arm around her shoulder. “But the spell didn’t work…”

“It doesn’t matter!” Buffy insisted. “He lied to me! Killing Angelus I could handle…” her voice shook again, emotion breaking back to the surface for the first time in days. “I’ve been prepared for it. But if I had to kill Angel…”

As soon as she saw the shimmer in Buffy’s eyes, Willow pulled her close.

“It’s all falling apart…” Buffy rested her head against Willow’s shoulder. “Everything… mom, school, Angel, this new apocalypse… and now I can’t even trust one of my best friends. Nothing’s all right, and it feels like it’s never going to be.”


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“Pick a star, any star!” Spike held his arms open wide, gazing up at the night sky.

He had brought Drusilla to the roof of the school. The two of them had walked through the halls without a care in the world. Spike was completely naked, showing off everything he had to offer, and Drusilla had only her lover’s long leather coat to cover her…but the coat was wide open, and her pale, naked skin glowed in the moonlight.

Spike could only grin as he watched her. She was all his again, and his cock was hardening as he thought back on the ways he had just proven it.

“Spike…” She turned to him with a playful glint in her eye, holding out a hand. “You promised a dance.”

“That I did.” He took her hand and pulled her close.

“Now that you’re strong again, we can dance just like we used to.”

“That and more, my sweet.” Spike lifted her up and spun her around, delighting in the sounds of her giggles.

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“It will be all right, Buffy.” Willow stroked her friend’s blonde hair as she held her close. “I know it seems…fake, somehow, saying it, but…we’re the ones that make things all right. It’s what we do. And things may seem impossible, but impossible is every other day for us…”

Willow pulled back to look into Buffy’s tear-filled green eyes. “And Xander…what he did was wrong, no doubt about it…but you know when it comes to needing him, he’ll be right there for you. He did a stupid, selfish thing, Buffy…but that doesn’t mean he isn’t…”

“Don’t ask me to forgive him right now, Willow.” Buffy sighed. “The whole forgiving thing…I’m just not ready for it.”


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Spike watched his fingers disappear into Drusilla’s long, dark hair. He inhaled sharply, enjoying her scent. He nuzzled against her while she lay in his arms, staring up at the stars. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep Drusilla content for long, that way…but surprisingly enough, he was content. Just having her with him always made him content.

“You mustn’t let the sunshine in, my pet,” Drusilla whispered softly against his bare chest.

“Of course not, luv.” He shifted his gaze to the sky. It was still dark, hours until sunrise.

“You mustn’t let it give you doubts.”

Spike frowned, looking down at her again. “Doubts?”

“The sunshine,” Drusilla clarified, trailing the tip of her fingernail against his sharp cheekbone. “You mustn’t let it cast doubts like shadows over us. You belong in the dark, my William…with me.”