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banner created by AJ Hofacre © March 10, 2008

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...part VII...
.:a vision of you, standing out in the crowd:.

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She had done a very stupid thing. She should’ve just stayed at home and looked after Mom and Dawn. And instead, she’d allowed her friends to drag her into another Bronze night. Why? Because they’d felt that she needed ‘cheering up.'

Whatever.

They’d already had a Bronze night earlier that week, for Tara’s birthday. It had been a very welcome diversion after the chaos that was Tara’s family and a bunch of invisible Lei-Ach demons. Not to mention the bruises Buffy was still sporting from that fight with Glory, that stupid bitch who thought she was a god or something.

Spike had entered the training room just as she was being attacked by two of the demons (she figured that his link to her had given him fair warning). But the spell Tara had used to mask her so-called demon side had instead masked everything of demonic origin -- including Spike -- from her eyes, so she hadn’t even known he was there until the spell was reversed.

He’d managed to save her from one of the more aggressive demons, and he’d even scared off Tara’s "family" during their attempt to drag the Wicca back home.

It really was quite funny watching Mr. MacLay turn tail and run, screaming like a little girl, from a vamped, snarling Spike. True, Spike had said at first that he hadn’t really cared, but she guessed that when it looked like bloodshed was inevitable, he wanted in.

Bloodshed always reeled them in.

Later on, Spike had scented Tara... or at least that was what Buffy had told everyone. She didn't think Willow would react too well if she'd been told that Spike had bitten her girlfriend, even if it was just to help.

Actually, Tara had been happy enough to not be taken away that she had allowed Spike to gently bite down on her finger, to test her blood for any demon residue. Which, Buffy realized dumbly a minute later, that Spike could do. Obviously, Tara was demon free.

Having a vampire around really came in handy.

Anyway, that minor interaction with him was one of the only times that Buffy had spoken to him since the sweet, gentle, yummy Spike with evil, sharp teeth incident. I have REALLY got to get a shorter name for that. Otherwise, it was all business. And when she went patrolling, she always dragged someone else along with her, lest she ran into him.

She just didn’t trust herself alone around him.

She mentally snorted. Would anyone?

"Oh, Buffy! Eve where air balloon and craft out jam crackers in Bali." Buffy jumped to attention, nearly knocking her untouched glass of Coke right off the table as she looked at Willow. She creased her brow, blankly trying to put together the words and hopefully comprehend the phrase she’d just heard.

"Wh... what?"

Willow sighed. "I said... oh, never mind" The Willow Pout© was affected. "Ruin all my excitement, you pooper of parties."

Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes. Sometimes she really wondered if Willow was as old as she said she was.

"Buffy, are you okay? You’ve been so out of it ever since you broke up with Riley. Are you regretting it?" Tara asked, a frown marring her gentle features.

Buffy looked up sharply, then snorted. "Hell no! Breaking up with Riley was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. I swear, by the time I dumped him, I was so ready to just wrap my hands around his throat and strangle him till he turned black and blue," she muttered, completing the disturbing image with hand motions. She looked up at the sudden silence and caught the wide-eyed gaze that both Tara and Willow were giving her. Buffy grinned sheepishly. "Uh... pretend you didn’t hear that." Both girls nodded quickly.

"No problem," Willow mumbled, eyeing Buffy wearily and taking a sip of her (virgin) drink.

The girl was gonna snap any day now.

"Whoo! The Xan-Man is on fire tonight!" Xander bellowed, doing a little dance and spinning once before flopping down onto his seat. Anya, shaking her head, followed right behind him with a smile on her face.

"Do you guys want anything more to drink?" Xander asked as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend and tilted his head at the other three girls.

Both Tara and Buffy shook their heads, but Willow raised her glass to him. "I do. Can you get me another of these? What's it called, anyway?"

Xander grinned evilly at Willow as he peered into the remaining dregs of the swirly liquid. "A Virgin Pussy."

Willow's face immediately went red, and she averted her eyes as the group at the table suddenly roared with laughter. She gave them all a tiny, sheepish grin, still blushing as bright as her hair. "Never mind then."

Xander coughed once to get rid of his giggles, then sat up straight, releasing Anya. "So what’s up, guys? We’ve ceased to get our groove on tonight? They're still playing that Sublime song on the speakers if you'd like to join me and Ahn."

Buffy shrugged. "Eh. I’m not really up to boogying down right now, Xander. But you all can go on, I don’t mind."

Xander pouted, Willow armed herself with a puppy dog look, complete with jutting lower lip, and Tara frowned, looking concerned. She had taken it upon herself to be attentive to the diminutive blonde, especially since Buffy had been her biggest champion in throwing out her father, brother and cousin the previous week. "Are you sure, Buffy? We can stay here and talk. The song’s over anyway."

Buffy smiled reassuringly at the blonde witch and nodded. Good old Tara. I'm glad I'm getting to know her better. Plus, she must still be feeling guilty about the whole, 'I'm a demon' whatsit.

"I’m okay, Tara. You can go on." Feeling someone's eyes on her, Buffy turned her head slowly, coming face to face with Xander, noticing with some alarm that he was studying her a little too intently. "What?" she asked, drawing out the word, feeling just a little too self-conscious with his brown eyes glued to her like that.

"Does this moodiness have anything to do with Riley?"

"No!"

‘Well are you sure this thing with Spike hasn’t made you paranoid or something?" He leaned closer. "Did he do anything, force himself on you so he could bite you?" It was quite convenient of Xander to completely forget that Riley had mentioned that Buffy hadn't resisted Spike at all. "Do we need to make with the poofing?" He pantomimed himself sticking a stake into Spike -- although in this case, his hand actually hit the pizza in the plate in front of him. He pulled his hand back and grimaced, wiping it off.

Buffy shook her head in frustration. "No. Guys, god, I didn’t let Spike do anything to me that I didn’t…" She quickly began backtracking when she realized how much TMI she was about to give. "I... mean... I let him bite me. And I know he wasn’t trying to hurt me. I know about the claim and everything." She sighed and put her head in her hands. "I just don’t know why he claimed me."

Xander shrugged. "To control you? If he's got control of you, then that would make it easier for you to be killed, wouldn't it?"

Anya fidgeted in her seat, shaking her head. "It's because he likes her!"

Four heads shot up to stare at her in shock. Buffy’s face paled. "W-what?" she whispered.

Anya rolled her eyes when she realized she'd said one of those taboo things that probably shouldn't have been... oh. Oops. Well, for D'Hoffryn's sake, she couldn’t help it! It was hard being perceptive and keeping your mouth shut! Besides, she'd seen the way the incredibly hot vampire always looked at Buffy -- only a complete moron would miss the fact that Spike had taken a more personal interest in the Slayer.

She sighed again and looked around her at the dumbfounded faces. Right. How could she forget?

Fortunately enough for her, she’d spent a thousand plus years learning how to cover herself after unconventional means of vengeance.

"Well we were commenting on what could possibly make Spike want to claim you. There's a very vague possibility that he likes you. Mind you, just a possibility. But a big one. Don’t worry, Buffy. Xander’s probably right. Spike probably just wants to control you so it’ll be easier for him to kill you later." She smiled and crossed her legs, smoothing her skirt and grabbing on to Xander’s arm.

Buffy gaped at her.

Okay... so Anya hadn't been human all that long... she was still learning the ropes of trying to comfort people...

No, that still wasn't comforting.


Come my lady, come, come my lady
You’re my butterfly, sugar, baby
Come my lady, you’re my pretty baby
you're my butterfly, sugar, baby


"Oh! Oh oh oh! It’s CrazyTown! Get up get up get up, we HAVE to dance to this!" Xander whooped, jumping up, grabbing Anya and racing onto the dance floor. Willow and Tara grinned at each other and grabbed hands, following the first two.

Buffy watched her friends as they submerged themselves into the sex-charged crowd of people, all who were now writhing and grinding against each other. She couldn’t help but notice that neither of her friends had stopped to say anything to her before racing out to the floor with their significant others.

Damn. She felt lonely.

Maybe she should’ve held on to Riley, just for... No. No, definitely not. Breaking up with that maggot was the best thing she’d ever done.


Such a sexy, sexy, pretty little thing
fierce nipple pierce, you got me sprung with your tongue ring
And I ain’t gonna lie, cuz you’re lovin’ gets me high
So to keep you by my side, there’s nothin’ that I won’t try


She hated him. Two-syllable, five-letter word. Could also be rearranged to spell what she dolled out for fledglings every night.

Right. Digressing.

Okay, so maybe she didn’t hate Riley per se, but she really, really didn’t like him anymore. He didn’t have what she needed. HE wasn’t what she needed. She didn’t need him. In fact, if anyone needed anyone, it was HIM who needed HER!

Well she didn’t need him, didn’t need anyone for a relationship, or for some stupid dance. She’d danced by herself before. So fuck it. She’d dance by herself now.


Butterflies in her eyes and the looks to kill
Time is passing and I’m asking could this be real?
Cuz I can’t sleep, I can’t hold still
The only thing I really know is she got sex appeal


Standing up, Buffy was the walking definition of the well-written lyrics. Walking to the dance floor, switching her hips to the beat of the song, she exuded an air of confidence that succeeded in turning heads, both male and female.

Or maybe it was the strappy blue halter-top and the tight black leather skirt that was grabbing most of the attention. So what?

Making her way to the center of the floor and closing her eyes, she listened to the churning punk rhythm. The music took over her body, and her hips began to gyrate, her waist began to twist, her arms rising above her head in a bewitching dance.

She lost herself to the song.

---

I can feel too much is never enough
you’re always there to lift me up when these times get rough
I was lost now I’m found
Ever since you’ve been around
You’re the woman that I want so yo I’m puttin’ it down

Come my lady, come, come my lady
You’re my butterfly, sugar, baby
Come my lady, you’re my pretty baby
I’ll make your legs shake, you make me go crazy

---

Demoness.

That was what she was. She moved like a demon, fought like a demon, it’d only make sense that she'd be one.

She hadn’t really talked to him since that night at his crypt, and it was driving him insane. He didn’t understand, couldn’t understand... why had she run away?

He’d felt things he never thought he’d feel again. Things he'd forgotten, things he hadn’t felt since the last happy times he’d had with Dru.


I don’t deserve you unless it’s some kinda hidden message
to show me life is precious
then I guess it’s true
But to tell the truth I never really knew
till I met you


He growled low in his throat at the lyrics of the song. They were hitting way too close to home.

That was it, he couldn’t stand it. He had to touch the girl.

He chugged back the last of his imported beer and extinguished his cigarette in some preppy school boy’s Coke, earning a resentful Look from the twit. Spike gave him a purely evil smirk, flashed his fangs, and slammed the beer bottle down on the bar, chuckling inwardly as the boy paled and jumped. Getting up in one lithe surge, he sauntered onto the floor.


I was lost and confused, twisted and used up
knew a better life existed, but thought that I’d missed it
My life style’s wild, I was livin’ like a wild child
Trapped on a short leash paroled, the police files
So yo what’s happening now?
I see the sun breaking, shinin’ through dark clouds
And a vision of you, standing out in the crowds


Gods. She was so gorgeous his heart felt like it would break in two.

He growled as he neared her. The poor chit had a bunch of mangy frat boys slobbering all over her. One braved the seductress’s dance and slid forward, putting a hand on her hip. Buffy made no move to bring herself closer, but Spike’s demon still flared, and he growled gently to keep it from emerging altogether.

No one, but no-fucking-one, least of all some pussy-faced, pimple-popping little college kid who didn’t know his dick from a twig, touched his girl.

The aura of menace that he'd authenticated his claim as the Big Bad appeared as he moved through the crowd, which parted instantly, like the Red Sea for Moses. When he arrived at the throng of wankers surrounding Buffy, most of them moved out of the vampire’s way, somehow sensing how fruitless it would be to pick a fight with him. He shook his head as he watched Buffy and the four remaining lugs enclosing her.

Really. What in the blue hell made these stupid gits think they even had a scrap of a chance with his Slayer?


Come my lady, come, come my lady
You’re my butterfly, sugar, baby
Come my lady, you’re my pretty baby
I’ll make your legs shake, you make me go crazy

---

She could sense his presence behind her – she'd sensed it practically since he'd walked in. Her Spidey sense went off the charts when Spike was around, almost like it knew that Spike was a special one, a vampire to be held in higher regard than other vampires. She knew she should be slightly wigged at his proximity, but right now, she was having way too much fun to worry. So she thought nothing of it when two of her admirers went flying, and she pressed into him when Spike’s cool, sensual hands wrapped around her waist.

Spike peered over Buffy’s head at the college boys and smirked in victory, leading his hands up her body and cupping her breasts, squeezing them possessively. Buffy let out a low moan and pushed into him more, one arm wrapping around his neck. Spike ground his crotch into her ass, fully aware that she could feel every inch of him awakening, and truly not giving a flying fuck. The frat boys glowered and shoved off, knowing that the blonde girl had made her choice – she hadn’t let either of them get that close to her. And they weren't about to mess with the freak behind her.

Spike slid his hand under the Slayer’s skimpy top and captured a rosy nipple, twisting and turning it, rubbing it until it ached. Buffy moaned again and threw her head back against his shoulder, hearing his ragged voice mutter in her ear, "Fuck, I want you." She replied by pressing into him, rubbing her ass up and down his cock with a powerful, dizzying friction.

He could see her skirt riding up her thighs, and oh god... if they hadn't been in public right now, Buffy would have been on the ground, riding something a little harder than his thigh. Spinning her around, Spike hoisted her into his arms, and she quickly hooked her legs around his, ankles wrapped around his calves, fingers gripping the thick leather of his duster almost hard enough to bruise. They were face to face now, hooded blue eyes meeting heavy green ones, both aroused, both proud and secure in their sexuality, neither giving a damn now about where they were.

Buffy began to move against him, the skirt sliding up around her hips. Spike quickly draped his duster over her, intent on keeping the view of her body from anyone’s sight but his own. He let out a soft groan as he felt her burning crotch grind into his, the wet spot on her panties rubbing a hole through his jeans and making his cock jump towards her. Her excitement was filling the room and Spike was dizzy from the scent of it.

He was drowning.


Hey, sugar mama, come and dance with me
the smartest thing you ever did was take a chance with me
whatever tickles your fancy
girl, it’s me and you like Sid and Nancy


Fuck. Fuck. He was gonna come, and fast. There was absolutely no fucking way on earth that he could be here, dancing to this song, in this position with the Slayer, and not come. His balls were aching, and his cock felt like it was going to explode any second. He could hear Buffy’s harsh breathing in his ear as she ground into him, and knew that she was having a bit of the same problem.

His eyes focused on a droplet of sweat that appeared at the nape of her neck, and slid over her collarbone, moving down her chest, trickling down the very visible valley between those sweet, supple breasts...

His head darted forward, and his tongue traced the path, licking up the saltiness, sucking her skin momentarily. Buffy cried out, throwing her head back, and arching up, the wetness of her panties soaking the lump in the front of Spike's jeans.


So sexy... almost evil
talkin’ ‘bout butterflies in my head
I used to think that happy endings were only in the books I read
But you made me feel alive when I was almost dead


Recognition of the lyrics flashed through both their minds, and their eyes locked, each understanding the implications of the words. A crooked smile crossed Buffy’s face as she wrapped both arms around his neck, and Spike returned the smile, tugging her closer.

God, he loved this girl.

---

Buffy was pressed up against Spike enough so they could... um, "dance" comfortably, but she wasn't so close to him that anyone who looked would see and have a heart attack. Like Xander. Which was probably a good thing considering that Xander, at the moment, was very well on his way to a heart attack, just from the sight of them not hitting each other.

Buffy... and Spike... dancing?

"Holy Toledo! What in the sacred name of Zeus is that?" he yelped, nearly dropping Anya. The ex-demon turned, following her boyfriend’s gaze. She grinned slightly.

Anya loved it when she was right.

"It’s Buffy. And Spike. They’re dancing. We should dance, too." She tugged on his arm, trying to convince him of the sense in her words, and made a small noise of frustration when he pulled away.

"Dancing? Buffy’s dancing with Spike?" he yelped. "It doesn’t look like they’re dancing! They look like they’re about to eat each other alive, like they’re going at it in the middle of the floor!"

Anya grinned to herself; by the flushed looks on their faces, it seemed that was exactly what they were doing. But she couldn’t tell that to Xander. He might go into cardiac arrest.

"Xander, take it easy. Buffy’s been stressed lately with all this Riley stuff piled on top of the normal demon stuff. Maybe she just wants to relax for one night. She’s put the minor fact that Spike is an evil vampire to the side for evening, and if she can, then so can you."

Xander looked at her. "But –"

"Xander..." Anya gently touched his shoulder, her voice softening. "Look at her." He did. "Does she look disgusted? Like she’s gonna back away and stab him anytime soon?"

Xander frowned and shook his head. He saw Spike lean in and whisper something to her, then gawked in surprise when Buffy giggled and hid her face in his chest, her arms wrapped around his neck.

Anya continued. "No, she doesn’t. She looks happy for once, doesn’t she?"

Xander sighed and nodded. "Yes..."

"Right. She’s happy. So just leave them alone." She took his hand and pulled him close to finish the dance.

He really didn’t want to. He looked toward the center of the floor again.

But it made Buffy happy.

---

You filled that empty space with the love I used to chase
and as far as I can see, it don’t get better than this
So, butterfly, here is a song, and it’s sealed with a kiss
And a thank you miss


"You know you’re bloody well beautiful, don’t you?"

Buffy grinned. "You might have mentioned it a few times." She leaned in, burying her face in his neck, breathing in his scent. "Any particular reason for bringing it up?"

Spike pulled her closer, kissing her neck. His hands cupped her ass, and his grinding became quicker, his breathing coming in shallow, erratic bursts. "Just checking, luv."

Buffy moaned blissfully, resting her cheek against his. She whimpered in his ear, then playfully licked his earlobe, sending shivers running up and down the vampire’s spine. She paid for it when Spike slammed his pulsing bulge against her scantily clad clit.

Her fingers curled into his hair as she moaned, and she arched backwards, her head falling back, her hips thrusting against him blindly. Spike groaned and quickly unzipped his pants, knowing he was close and not particularly wanting to wash out any stains from his jeans later.


Come my lady, come, come my lady
you’re my butterfly, sugar, baby
come my lady, you’re my pretty baby
I’ll make you legs shake, you make me go crazy


As the final lyrics of the song played, the words seemed to be ordering Spike and Buffy to comply and Spike slid his hand between himself and the Slayer, gripping his cock and squirting the liquid out onto the hem of Buffy's halter. His head flopped down on her shoulder and he let out a soft groan.

Buffy gave a long, satisfied sigh, her insides clenching and spasming as she approached her own release. When she did, she buried her face in Spike’s neck and bit down gently, her blunt teeth lightly imprinting his skin. Nevertheless, the feel of her teeth against his skin made instinct rear up. He lifted her hand, allowed his fangs to slide out, and gently bit into her wrist, lapping at her blood.

After a moment, he withdrew and licked the wound clean, placing a gentle kiss on them. Buffy slid down, looking up at him with dazed eyes. She lifted a shaky hand and touched a finger to his lips, wiping off a smear of crimson. She sighed.

"You really have to stop doing that," she murmured.

Spike gave her a small smile, discreetly zipping himself up with one hand. "Why?"

She slid a finger down his chest and splayed her hand over his abdomen, rubbing his muscles gently. "Because then I won’t be held accountable for what I’d do to you."

He wasn’t sure whether to curse the non-existent vampire refractory period, or thank the Powers That Be over and over for it. He tilted his head. "Show me?"

Buffy smiled. "Maybe." She brushed past him to the bathroom, a mile-wide grin plastered on her face.

Spike dipped his head, inhaling the heady scent of her orgasm, and he physically had to restrain himself from going in after her. His eyes followed the Slayer as she disappeared through the crowds. When she was out of his line of sight, he sighed and turned around. Then, he chuckled as he realized how deep in shit he was when Buffy grasped what he'd done to her shirt. He looked back over his shoulder toward her.

And he smiled.

---

Buffy walked into the bathroom, fully unable to wipe the smile off of her face. God. If they had been that intense just grinding, would the world implode if they actually had sex?

She went to the sink and turned on the tap, splashing the cold water on her face. Okay, make-up was definitely finito. And it figured -- she hadn’t brought her bag to touch up. Glancing in the mirror, she studied her reflection -- and for the first time since Angel had left her alone and bereft, she liked what she saw. Her cheeks were a bit fuller, and were rosy red. Her eyes were glittering and alight with joy. And...

Her shirt was covered with cum.

She was going to kill Spike if this stained.

She shook her head and set about attempting to wash the goop off, thanking the powers for all the glitter and rhinestones covering the actual fabric. It would still be a little crusty, and she probably wouldn't be wearing it for a while -- in fact, she'd probably make Spike buy her a new one -- but it would be fine.

What was below the waist, however...

Her panties felt too slippery. She turned the tap off and ducked into a stall, shimmying her skirt up and squirming out of her soaked, useless white thong. She laughed softly to herself as she cleaned up her little mess.

Wow.

The fact that it was Spike that was evoking these feelings in her was no longer an issue. The only thing that mattered was that he could. She hadn’t felt so happy and so relaxed in such a long time and, once again, because of dancing and grinding? With Spike?

She was thinking that this was a big yay.

Should she curse the Powers, or thank them for getting her involved with Spike? Stupid mystical beings... they always had to complicate things. But if they hadn't, then she probably wouldn't have discovered how many advantages a vampire without a soul could have. Specifically, a vampire that wasn't Angel.

Buffy left the restroom, tossing her soiled panties into the trash. Another smile crawled its way onto her face.

Complications always made things a lot more fun anyway.

---

Heavy combat boots clomped into the room and Xander froze. Last night at the Bronze had been a step up for him in not picking on the evil, blood-sucking fiend (especially since the puppy had his chompers back). In fact, he’d held himself in check pretty well, even when Spike had joined them at their table at Buffy’s behest. He had to admit, having the vampire there, even if the vampire's attention had been entirely focused too much on Buffy for Xander's liking, had definitely lightened the mood. Xander had even engaged in some pleasant banter with him.

That didn’t mean he was going to hand out the invitations and pick out china patterns.

Anyway, there was only one person he knew that sounded like that when coming into the room, and he had to steel himself so as not to bitch, lest Buffy followed him in.

Surprisingly enough, the owner of the boots was Buffy.

Should he be wigged?

He couldn't believe that he'd forgotten about the Buffy Anne Summers wall-to-wall Shoe World. The girl had used to live in Los Angeles; she probably had every type of shoe known to mankind just in her closet. However, these, he thought, were new. He didn't remember seeing these on her feet before, and he had that freaked feeling again. The combat boots on her feet all-too-closely resembled Spike’s, but with a skin-tight white T-shirt emblazoned with blue flames and a tight black skirt that reached mid-thigh, however, she was all Buffy.

Except for her apparent new love for all things restricting. It seemed that she was taking fashion tips from Spike -- really creepy fashion tips. Xander suppressed his gag reflex as an involuntary picture of Spike walking around in Buffy’s clothes with sunglasses on popped into his head.

How disturbing.

Maybe the claim was having more of an effect on the Slayer than they’d originally thought.

Xander stood up, his finger pointing at her. "My my my! Look who decided to play Anti-Social Girl for the day!" Buffy’s head jerked around, focusing on him, and he shrank back, wiggling his fingers sheepishly. "Please don’t hurt me. Loving the new look, really."

Buffy shook her head and turned away again, taking off her sunglasses. "Shut up. FYI, I just wanted to try something new. And I’ve had these clothes for, like, ever, so I figured I’d get some wear into them. Okay?"

Xander held both hands up. "Okay, okay, sorry."

Buffy frowned, then shrugged. "Whatever."

Whoa. Buffy was going back to pre-Slayer, Los Angeles Buffy days. Creepy.

Xander shivered.

"Hey, Xander, Anya, Buff -- whoa." Dawn bounced into the room from the training room's direction, glancing over her sister’s outfit in awe. "Wow, look at you! All punk-ish and goth-y... now all you need is that dark make-up you always wore when you dated Angel, and you’d actually be cool."

Buffy scowled at her sister, but a tiny smile was twitching at the corners of her mouth. "What are you doing here? Did you follow me? Or did Willow teach you teleportation?"

Willow’s head poked out of the training room, and she waved meekly. "No teaching of any things magic, Buffy, I swear. I was just coming here and Dawn was walking around, so I brought her with me."

Buffy stilled, then looked at the Energy Blob. "You told me you were going to Caitlyn’s. Who, as I happen to recall, lives right down the street from us." She turned back to Willow. "Where was she walking?"

The red-head froze up. She felt like her throat had globbed over. "Um... um, she was... just around..." A sleek blonde eyebrow rose up, and Buffy looked wearily at her friend. That whore-bitch Glory she’d encountered had been looking for the Key. Dawn was the Key. What if this woman had found her? From what Buffy had seen of the chick, she had more strength than two Buffys put together. She grabbed Willow’s arms.

"Where was she, Will?"

Willow took one look at the Slayer and broke down. "She... she was at Spike’s cemetery with him. I’m sorry, so, so sorry!"

Buffy felt relief wash over her immediately, and she looked down at the teen, who was glaring at the witch for her betrayal. "You were with Spike?" she asked.

Dawn turned to her and nodded meekly. "Yes..."

Buffy smiled and nodded. "Okay." She turned toward the training room.

Dawn blinked.

Willow gaped.

Xander choked.

Anya pretty much ignored them all.

The other three looked at each other, before Dawn raced after her sister, with the two Scoobies on her tail.

Catching up to her, Dawn grabbed her shoulder. "You mean, you don’t mind that I was with him?"

Buffy turned to her. "No. I don’t. Because I know you’re safe with him." She turned to walk again, but spun back just as quickly. "But I am a little miffed that you lied about where you were going."

Dawn pouted. "I’m sorry... I just really wanted to see him. He was so cool about what happened with Tara’s family and everything." Dawn paused, thinking for a moment. "I think I scared him when I showed up. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?"

Buffy laughed. "For some reason, little girls have a way of unnerving big manly vampires. You saw how Angel wigged every time he saw you. Don’t know why." She put a hand on Dawn’s shoulder. "Okay, you’re off the hook this time. Don’t do it again... someone could..." Buffy trailed off. Dawn didn't know about Crazy-Chick. Dawn didn't know about the Key. Dawn didn't know that she was said Key, and that Slutbomb 2000 was after her. She reworded herself quickly. "You might scare Mom." The two shared a meaningful look, and Dawn nodded.

"I gotcha. Thanks, Buffy."

Buffy nodded, touching a lock of Dawn’s hair. "No problem."

Dawn grinned giddily, then flounced off to somewhere in the store, most likely to bother Giles.

After a brief pause, Xander and Willow walked up to Buffy.

Xander had his hand over his face. "Did I just hear what I... thought I heard?"

Buffy looked at him, unclasping her skirt to reveal workout shorts underneath. "What would that be?"

Xander glanced at her in disbelief. "You? Saying that Dawn was safe with the Evil Dead? Are you nuts? He’s got his fangs back! He could go after Dawn to get to you, and you’re saying that she’s safe with him?!"

Buffy turned and glared at him, tying her hair up. "Did you even see how he was with Dawn the day I broke up with Riley? He couldn’t even believe that she liked him! And did you see her just now? Did you see any marks on her? Did you see her shaking, and crying, and, and scared to death?" Xander started to reply, but Buffy cut him off.

"No, you didn’t. What, Xander, do you think I’m stupid? That Spike’s claim on me has completely clouded my judgment of him? Because it hasn’t. In fact, with the claim, I’m thinking more clearly than before. Dawn is fine with Spike! She didn’t come back maimed or torn! He wouldn’t hurt her, he wouldn’t do anything cruel to her, and do you know why? Because he cares about her. I know he does. And I know he wouldn’t bring her any harm. I trust him."

Xander’s jaw fell open and he stared at Buffy in shock. Willow’s eyebrows had risen up on her forehead, and she stood silently, just watching her two friends. Buffy turned away, slightly more stunned than the others were at her own words. But as she slid her boots off and taped her hands up, she knew the truth, and repeated it with more resolve. She had confidence in him.

"I trust him."



TBC.

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