The Exchange Student

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Title: The Exchange Student

Author: Camilla

Email: bananacosmicgirl@hotmail.com

Rating: PG-13 Just some kisses, not a lot of bad words either.

Pairing: Buffy/Spike of course!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, just the story. Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy and the WB owns it all.

Distribution: Want it - take it, as long as you let me know where it's going.

Feedback: Yes please!! This is only my third fic though, so be kind.

Author's note: This began as the simple challenge response, to a challenge I found on the site Death-Marked Love. The challenge:

Summary: Buffy and her family get a foreign exchange student for two semesters and guess who it is?? It's Spike of course and he and Buffy hates each other at first and then they start to like each other. But her father hates the idea of Buffy and Spike together because he's a bad influence on her.

Must have:

- AU B/S fic

- Buffy can be the slayer or not (writer's choice)

- Spike is human, but still has his "bad boy" image

- The Scoobies

- Dawn can exist in the fic or not (writer's decision)

- Buffy is a junior and Spike is a senior

- Buffy visits Spike in England

I found it to be a very interesting situation, as I have just come home from being an exchange student myself.

In this universe, Xander is dating Anya and Willow is with Tara, although they are only in high school. Angel, Cordelia and such don't exist.

A big thanks to the site Death-Marked Love, which gave me the idea. I'd never have come up with this by myself.

The Exchange Student

"Okay girls, behave," Joyce said, with a meaningful glance at her oldest daughter.

Buffy sighed, and said, "Don't worry mom, we'll be acting if he was the prince of England."

"And no sarcastic remarks, thank you very much."

"Fine."

Dawn, Buffy's eleven-year-old sister, stood besides Buffy, and Joyce stroke her long beautiful brown hair. "Mom, when's he coming?" she asked, her voice excited.

"Soon, sweetie, soon. Your dad just called and said that they're on their way back from the airport."

Just then, they heard a car pull up outside the house. Dawn was almost jumping up and down in excitement; she'd been looking forward to having the exchange student come since her parents had broken the news that they'd have one. Buffy yawned; she had been against it all since the beginning. How in the world was she supposed to keep her Slayer duties a secret from a guy living in their house? Of course, she had managed to keep it from her parents for quite a while, but she really didn't want to go back to the old 'sneaking-out-the-window-routine'. She preferred it the way it was, with everything out in the open with her family.

The door opened.

"Come on in, William," she heard her father's voice. Hank came in the door carrying one big, heavy bag, and behind him came the exchange student. Buffy could hear Dawn gasp, and she knew that her sister would have a crush on the guy for the rest of the year.

William was quite tall, was the first thing he noticed. Lots of muscles were hinted under a leather jacket and tight black pants. Bleached hair that didn't get Buffy's liking, strong cheekbones and piercing blue eyes.

"Hello William," Joyce said, and stretched out her hand. "The flight went well, I hope?"

"Yeah, although the food was bloody awful," he responded, then shook the hand of a slightly shocked Joyce.

"Well... Um... I'm sorry to hear that." She turned around and decided to introduce her daughters. "These are my daughters, Dawn," she pointed at the littler one, "and Buffy."

"'Ello," Spike said, eyeing Buffy appreciatively from her toes and up, stopping at her eyes.

"Hi," Buffy said coolly. She already disliked this guy.

Dawn, on the other hand, she had a smile on her face that reached from ear to ear. "It's so nice to meet you, William," she said politely.

"Call me Spike. That's what everyone else does."

He grinned, and Hank asked him if he wanted to take his suitcases up to his room.

"Sure," Spike said. He grabbed them both, one in each hand, and Joyce led him up the stairs to his new room. Dawn stared after him, still smiling.

"Are we allowed to leave now? I need to go patrolling," Buffy said in an annoyed voice.

"Sure, you go," her dad answered.

Not wasting a second, Buffy was out of the door.

Buffy met up with the Scoobies in the graveyard. She was silent, but as a vampire came by and she hit him with more force than any of them had seen in a long time, Willow asked her, "Uh, Buffy? Is there something wrong?"

Buffy turned around and looked at her friend. "No."

"C'mon, Buff," Xander said, "Tell us."

Buffy hesitated, then she said, "Fine. The exchange student came to us today."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Willow said, "How is he?"

"Rude, stupid and bleached," Buffy said. "I saw him for two minutes and he's already getting on my nerves."

"Ooh, t-that can't be good," Willow said. "But why don't you like him?"

"Oh I don't know! The way he looked at me, though, it was scary. No, I take that back. He wasn't scary, just annoying."

"Give him a chance," Xander broke in. "He can't be that bad. I mean, he's not a vampire or anything. Right?"

"No, he's not. Oh, I guess you're right. I'll try and like him."

"That's the spirit," Willow cheered.

* * *

But as much as Buffy tried, Spike just kept getting on her nerves. A month went by, and he was everywhere, invading her house and school and life with every inch of his body. Nobody else though, seemed to have the same problem with him like Buffy did.

When her mother had come over the use of 'bloody hell' and 'sodden' in every other sentence, Joyce had come to the conclusion that she liked Spike, although she preferred to call him William. Of course, she saw Spike with a mother's eyes, and he saw her as a second mom, and not as if he was undressing her with his eyes as Buffy thought he did with her.

Dawn just adored Spike. She got this big, almost drooling smile whenever he was around, and more than once, Buffy had heard her giggle with her friends about him. But Dawn was still a child and Buffy knew that that was the way Spike saw her too, when she'd heard him refer to her as 'Nibblet'.

And then there was her dad. Buffy didn't really know what he thought of Spike; he was seldom home and when he was, Spike wasn't the one he spent time with. So she couldn't tell if he liked Spike or not.

Her mother was calling her down for dinner. Sighing, Buffy put together the magazine she'd been trying to read and left her room. As she was walking down the stairs, another door opened, and the next moment, Spike was right behind her.

"Don't you have anywhere else to be?" she asked him angrily.

"Nope, I don't, since I do live here, at the moment at least," he answered her in a slightly amused tone.

"Why on earth did mom and dad decide that we were gonna host an exchange," Buffy muttered under her breath. But Spike heard.

"You mad at me, pet?"

Gritting her teeth, she responded, "Don't. Call. Me. Pet."

"Pet, pet, pet..."

"You are so full of it," she whispered. The two had stopped in the hallway downstairs, and were now glaring at each other.

"And that's why you love me," he whispered.

"I will never love you."

"Oh really?" he mocked her.

"Yeah. Really. You see, you are a dumb, five foot ten or so, gross, and badly bleached Englishman with out manners." She almost felt proud of herself for that outburst.

"As if you are so much better," he sneered. "You are an annoying sixteen-year-old little fashion victim with too much hormones."

Slap.

It was pure reaction, and it did what it had intended; it got him quiet. He looked shocked.

"Shut up," she threatened. "One more word and I will hurt you. Badly."

"I'd like to see you try."

"No," she whispered. "You wouldn't."

Suddenly, Joyce's face appeared in the doorway. "Are you to going to stand here all day, or are you coming?"

"I'm coming mom," Buffy responded, and added quietly, "But I hope he doesn't."

* * *

Another couple of days passed, and Spike didn't seem to be bothering her as much. Maybe, she thought, maybe I really did scare him off with my words. That thought made her happy, as she wanted nothing to do with the stupid senior.

Suddenly, the door to her room opened, interrupting Buffy's thoughts.

"Hello Buffy," she heard his voice.

"Have you ever heard of knocking on the door?" Buffy asked icily.

"Why hello Spike too," he said, and proceeded into her room.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Couldn't she even get to be alone in her own room?

"Just wanted to see how my little sis was doing."

"I am not your little sister," she said, continuing just as icily.

"Fine. Whatever." He looked at Buffy, and she got the same feeling as always; that he was undressing her with his eyes. She shuddered.

"Can you please get out?" Buffy asked, sounding anything but polite.

"Do I hear a hint of hostility?" Spike asked, not moving.

"Not just a hint. Get out before I throw you out the window."

"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy, you need to work on your people skills. But I'll do as my lady wishes," he said and walked over to the door, but he didn't leave until he'd done a taunting bow.

Buffy's inside was boiling, and she knew that the only ting that could do was to go out and slay some vampires. Quietly, she grabbed one stake, put another in the pocket of her jacket and headed outside.

* * *

She walked over the cemetery, the wet grass sounding beneath her. It had just started raining. Not heavily, just a light drizzle. Ahead of her though, vampires caught her attention. There were six of them, all making their way towards her, game faces on. They seemed new; dirt was still on their clothes.

"Oh hey, here we go," Buffy muttered. She made her way forward and before the vampires knew what had hit them, she was in the middle, kicking and staking furiously. The first one went, with a surprised look on his face. The second one she kicked, landing him on the ground, and she had put the stake through his heart before he had time to get on his feet again. Number three and four were running towards her, one from each side, and she held out one stake on each side, and they pinned themselves on the wooden points as they jumped on her. Two left. She right-handed one, sending the female vampire to the ground and then kicking the other one in his stomach. The female got up and kicked Buffy in the face. She dropped her stakes, and fell hard back into a tombstone. Momentarily, her world went black.

Then, groggily, she tried to sit up again, but a vampire held her down while the female sat over her, punching her in the face.

"Not on top of it anymore, Slayer?" the female said, bending down to bite Buffy.

Buffy squirmed and tried to get out of the vampire's grip, but its hands held her down like metal straps would have done. Tears of fear crept out along her cheeks; she was trembling with fear.

But just then, as Buffy though her life would end, the female was kicked of her. A stake was thrown at her, and she staked the male vampire behind her before he understood what was going on. Surprised of the turn of events, Buffy stood up - still groggy from hitting her head on the tombstone - and was more than surprised to see Spike of all people, fighting the female vampire. He held a stake in one hand, but he was loosing to the vampire.

Quickly, Buffy ran over there, and with two kicks, a punch and a stake through her heart, the vampire was gone.

Panting, Buffy turned to her savior.

"Spike! What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, rubbing her throbbing her head.

"Are you okay?" Spike asked, ignoring her question.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Buffy lied. Her head hurt badly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well... You've been disappearing almost every night, and I wanted to know where you were going."

Buffy looked at him, disbelieving. "Right," she said. "You were gonna see if I was being bad, doing drugs or something."

Spike looked indifferent. "Yeah, well, that wouldn't be too hard to think, now would it, pet?"

"Well, I'm not doing drugs," Buffy retorted, holding both hands up to her head. It hurt, and her world was swaying before her eyes. She reached on hand out to hold onto something to be able to regain her balance, and Spike took it.

"You're not okay," he said. "C'mon, let's go home."

She nodded, still clutching Spike's arm. If she didn't, she was going to fall. She felt ridicules, but at that very moment, she didn't care. They walked slowly over the cemetery, but by the time they reached the outside of it and still had another fifteen minutes of walk to go, Spike said, "This is not working."

"What?" Buffy asked and looked up at him.

"You won't be able to walk all the way home," he said, looking concerned. This surprised Buffy.

"What d'you suggest we do?" she asked in a small voice, as it hurt to talk.

"This." Quickly, he put one arm under her knees and one under her shoulders and lifted her.

"What 're you doing?" Buffy asked, a little annoyed.

"Just relax. I don't bite," he answered, and to her own surprise, she did. She lowered her head to his shoulder, held her arms around his neck and let him carry her.

* * *

He was surprised at how light she was. Even more surprised was he at the fact that she actually let herself be carried. But, she really didn't look well. Her face was pale and her eyes had been groggy, and she'd hardly been able to walk. He wondered where she'd gotten the power to stake that last vampire.

At last, they reached her house. Quietly, Spike opened the front door, and walked inside. It was quiet and dark. It was one o'clock, so that was understandable; everyone else was in bed.

He sneaked up the stairs, still with Buffy in his arms. She seemed to have fallen asleep, and he put her in her room on the bed. She woke up as he was pulling her boots off. She sat up and looked slightly disoriented.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Putting you to bed, pet," he answered. "Lay back and sleep."

She obeyed, and was back asleep before he was done with her shoes. Spike pulled her covers up over her, and then he left the room, smiling slightly.

* * *

Buffy woke up, her head still aching slightly but not like the night before. The Slayer healing had kicked in. She remembered the night before. Oh God, she remembered. Spike. He had carried her. Why in the world had she let him do that? She hated him! But what had he really been doing there at the cemetery in the first place?

Hastily she got dressed and went downstairs. It smelled of pancakes and she found her mom in the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweetie," Joyce said. "Want some pancakes?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Buffy said smiling slightly. She sat down by the table. "Where's everyone?" she asked.

"Oh, your father is at work," Joyce started, and Buffy interrupted.

"On a Sunday?" she asked, staring at her mom in disbelief.

"Yes, he had something he needed to do. Anyway," Joyce said, sounding like she didn't want to talk about it. "Dawn is still sleeping I believe, and William left a while ago. I think he went to the library."

"Oh." Spike at the library? she thought. Now that's odd.

Her mother put a plate in front of her and Buffy got syrup. Joyce sat down on the other side of the table. Buffy thought she looked tired.

"What's up mom?" she asked, concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing," Joyce said, attempting a smile.

They both fell quiet and ate under silence. A couple of minutes later, Dawn came down the stairs.

"Morning," she said, teenage tired as always.

"There are some pancakes on the stove for you too, honey," Joyce said.

Dawn went ahead and took some pancakes and then sat down at the quiet table.

"O-kay," she said, "Why are we having this year's Gloom-party here?"

Buffy shot her a look, and her mother answered, "We just have a lot to think about, Dawn."

Dawn shrugged, grabbed a comic magazine and ignored her mother and sister.

* * *

Buffy met up with the Scoobies a little later in the day. They sat around the table at the Magic Box and talked. Willow and Tara were engaged in a discussion involving unicorns - whether they existed or not -, Xander and Anya were sitting together, he trying to read a book and she kissing him on the side of his face. He didn't seem annoyed. Giles was talking to her, about her training.

"You need to start training more, Buffy," Giles said. "You need to start taking your duty more seriously."

Buffy nodded, but she wasn't really listening to what he said. She was thinking of Spike, and his - and her - behavior the night before. Why in the world had he followed her to the cemetery? How did he know that he needed a stake to kill the vampires? Why wasn't he freaked out about seeing vampires? The whole thing was a mystery.

"Buffy! Listen to what I have to say!" Giles interrupted her thoughts.

"Uh, what?" she asked a highly annoyed Watcher.

Giles looked at her, but at that point Anya turned around to them.

"Oh yeah," Anya asked. "I was wondering, Buffy. When will we get to meet you exchange student guy?"

Buffy stared at Anya. Could the ex-demon read her thoughts?

"Uh, soon, I guess," she answered, not wanting to talk about it.

"But he's been here for a month, and we still haven't met him," Anya complained.

So far, Willow was the only one who'd met Spike, and even that meeting had been brief. Willow had come by her house to pick her up to go to the Bronze one night, and Spike had been there too.

"You-you must be Spike," Willow had said.

"Yeah, that'd be me," he'd responded. "And you are...?"

"Oh. I'm Willow. B-Buffy's friend."

He'd nodded, said, "Nice to meet you, Willow," and left.

Returning to present, Buffy answered, "Well, he's not much to see. He's big, bleached and annoying."

"Crushed to hear you say that, pet," a voice said and Buffy whirled around. Spike was standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Your mum wants you to come home, your cousin and aunt have come."

Oh shoot, she'd forgotten about that. Her Aunt Michelle and her bratty, fourteen-year-old cousin Sarah had come to spend a week with them. She didn't know why, but her mother had told her they wanted a vacation, and they thought Sunnydale would be the perfect place, since they normally lived in dull Oklahoma.

Buffy muttered a curse under her breath, and then said, "Fine, I'm coming. You go ahead."

"Oh, I wouldn't leave without you pet."

"You are so extremely annoying."

"And proud of it, love. By the way, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Buffy turned around to find all of them, even Giles, staring at her and Spike.

"Fine. This is Spike," she said to the Scoobies, then she turned to get her stuff from the training room.

"'Lo all," Spike said with a crooked grin.

Willow smiled at him in recognition, while the other ones just stared. Anya smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Anya. This is Xander," she pointed at her boyfriend, "Willow and Tara," she continued nodding at the Wiccas. "And Giles of course," she said with a look at the older man. "He owns the store. I work here."

Spike nodded. He didn't say anything, and the next second, Buffy was back with a bag on her back and an irritated statement.

"See you later," she said to the Scoobies and left the store with Spike in tow.

She walked fast, attempting to get ahead of Spike but not succeeding. He seemed to have no trouble keeping up with her. Suddenly she stopped and looked at him accusingly.

"Are you going to tell me anytime soon what you were doing at the cemetery last night? Or will I have to guess?"

"Why do you care, pet?"

"Why I care?! Because there aren't supposed to be people out at a cemetery at twelve o'clock at night!"

"Then what were you doing there, huh? Besides, shouldn't you be bloody thanking me?"

"Why would I?"

"Because I saved your sodden life!" They had started walking again.

"You did not; I had everything under control!"

"Yeah, even when you were thrown into a tombstone, knocked unconscious for a second and almost bitten. Oh yeah, you were in control," Spike said sarcastically.

"I have come this far, I don't need your help!" she said, walking so fast she was almost running. He had stopped a little further back, and the rest of the way they walked one and one, neither saying another word.

* * *

Later that night, Buffy lay in her bed. The day had continued in the same way it had begun: badly.

Her cousin Sarah was just as horrible as ever, although she was nice to Spike. Buffy guessed that Sarah, just like Dawn, had developed a hasty crush on the peroxide blonde Englishman. He hadn't been nice to her though; he'd been all sarcastic and evil, as he always was when Joyce wasn't around. It seemed that Joyce was the only one he really respected.

Except for yesterday, a little voice in the back of her head said. She'd seen something different the night before. Spike had been a gentle young man who'd saved her and then taken care of her. Who was that kind and caring man and where was he now? Why was Spike being so rude all the time? Was it all an act?

Thoughts still whirling in her head, she fell asleep.

* * *

The week when Aunt Michelle and cousin Sarah stayed at their house went by slowly, and more than once Buffy felt like she wanted to just break Sarah's neck or something. Hurt her. Really badly. Because not even Dawn was as bratty as Sarah was, believe it or not. Buffy noticed this when Joyce ordered Buffy to take Sarah and Aunt Michelle shopping at the mall; Sarah got everything she pointed at.

On Thursday, it was October 31st, and every child and teen in all of Sunnydale dressed up for Halloween. Sarah and Dawn had had fun at the mall, picking out a costume each for them. Dawn was dressed up as a Tinkerbell, in a very short, green dress and her hair up in a bun on the back of her head. On her feet, she had little green shoes.

"You know, that could become really cold since it's chilly outside," Buffy told her.

"I know, Buffy," an annoyed Dawn answered, "But it's my choice."

"Fine," Buffy shrugged and helped her baby sister with the zipper in the back.

Nancy had come out a little later, dressed like a princess. It was funny, Buffy thought, to see her not-very-skinny cousin dressed up in a tight, poofy pink dress with layer upon layer of frills and her hair pinned up with clips formed as butterflies, making her appearance resemble more to a wedding cake than a princess. On the whole, Sarah looked ridicules.

The two set out to go trick or treating, while Buffy put on shoes and collected her stake to go out and patrol. As she was getting ready, the door opened, and someone came in. In the dim light of her room, Buffy couldn't really make out who it was, but it looked a lot like a - vampire.

Instantly, she grabbed her stake, and she was just inches from putting it through the vampire's heart, when she realized that it wasn't a vampire. It was Spike, dressed up as one.

"Hello, love, you not happy to see me?"

"Spike! Get out of my room!" she said, angrily.

"Oh you're in a mood today, pet. That time of month again?"

"Get out Spike," Buffy repeated, this time in a lower, more threatening voice.

"Where's your sense of fun, pet?" he asked her mockingly.

"Where it's always been - far away from you." She leaned forward to him, stake in one hand, the other one ready to hit.

"Aww, that's so funny," Spike said in a low voice. He too leaned closer. They were mere inches away; she could feel his warm breath on her face, making her heart beat faster. Stop it, she told herself. Just get him out of here.

And that was what she did. In one quick motion, she had shoved him out of her room and closed the door right in his startled face.

* * *

At the end of the week, Buffy was more than happy to see her cousin and aunt go. When her relatives left, the house suddenly felt so peaceful - even thought Spike was still there - and Buffy sat down to do some schoolwork. She had a test in geometry the next day, and she didn't know half of it, it felt like.

There was a knock on the door.

"What?" Buffy asked, tiredly.

She heard Spike's voice; "Can I come in?"

Buffy didn't answer; she went over to the door and opened it. "What is it?"

"See: I knock," he said, grinning. When he noticed she wasn't smiling back, he stopped, though.

"What do you want now?"

"Well, we haven't really talked all week, so I though..."

Buffy interrupted. "Spike, we didn't talk before that either."

"I know that! So? I want to start. I've been her for almost two bloody months, and I still haven't said more than twenty words to you."

Buffy sat at her desk, just looking at him, trying to figure out where this was going.

"And that's a problem because...?" she asked him.

He sighed, and muttered, "Whatever."

He was walking out of the room when Buffy asked him, "Why weren't you scared of the vampires?"

He turned around and looked at her, looking as if he was trying to decide whether to tell her or not. Finally, he said, "My great grandfather was a Watcher. He told me all about them when I was little."

Buffy was surprised at the explanation. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but it hadn't been that.

"When I came here, I didn't know you were the Slayer. But I was wondering what you were sneaking out every bloody night for. So, I decided to follow you, pet, and that's how I ended up in the cemetery."

Buffy's mouth formed a perfect 'o'.

"The next day, I went to the library, and found some ol' books, and they said you were the Slayer. It's not all that complicated, pet. Anything else you want to know?"

First, Buffy sat still. Then she shook her head, and then, as he was leaving for the second time, she said, "I want to know if you can help me with this; it's geometry."

A smile played on his face as he walked over to her, and sat down next to her.

* * *

She got the highest scores she'd ever gotten on a math quiz that next day, and she decided that Spike was going to get to help her again.

She had a busy life; School, training and slaying took up almost all her time, and she was overly thankful to her friends who helped her with both schoolwork and the staking of vampires. Even Spike helped every now and then. He didn't have the powers that she did, and he didn't have the magic knowledge that the Wiccas had, but in his own way he helped them. He was like a second, stronger version of Xander.

When Buffy had first told Giles and the Scoobies that Spike knew she was the Slayer, they had been surprised and Xander had seemed a little worried.

"Was it really a good idea tell him?" he had asked.

"I didn't tell him," Buffy had responded. "He followed me one night, and - well, he saved my life. We didn't talk about it, though, until last night, and he told me that he knew about vampires and all that. His great grandfather was a Watcher. Giles, have you heard of William Johannes Walthrop?"

Giles had looked up, surprised, and said, "Yes. He was the Watcher of Linda the Vampire Slayer in the - I don't know, sometime around the fifties, I believe. Linda was a very successful Slayer, and she saved the world quite a few times, I believe, making her Watcher a well-known name among the Council."

Buffy had nodded, taking in the information. So Spike hadn't lied to her. She hadn't really thought that he was, but it was good having someone confirm that he was telling the truth.

"So, w-what is he going to d-do now?" Tara had asked, shyly. "S-Spike, I mean."

"He wants to go with us and patrol," Buffy had responded, thinking back to their conversation the evening before. "He is a good fighter, I saw that just in the short time when he - rescued me. I'm sure he'll do good."

The Scoobies nodded, as Willow said, "Yeah, we can never get too much help."

* * *

One night, they were all out patrolling; Buffy walking first, Spike after her, then Willow and Tara and last Xander and Anya who held hands and looked cute. It didn't take them long to find some vampires, and soon they were all fighting. There were more vampires than there were Scoobies, but the Scoobies had the top hold anyway. Vampire after vampire was turned into dust, and finally, they were alone in the graveyard again.

"Well, that wasn't too hard," Xander said, brushing dust off his pants.

"I don't see anymore," Buffy said, looking around. "I say we call it a night."

The others nodded and they scattered after getting out of the cemetery.

"You coming?" Buffy asked Spike as they were leaving.

But he was standing there, listening intently. He pointed at the bushes and held up four fingers. Buffy nodded understandingly and they walked over there, but stopped as they heard voices.

"The lady will be very pleased," one of the people behind the bush said.

"Kill the Slayer and she can rule," another one said.

"She has the crystal, now all she needs is the Slayer's blood," a third one chimed in.

"We do best in going back to her," the fourth one whispered.

Buffy could see that they were minions, and gestured to Spike to come back to her, as she stood a little further away from them. Spike crept over quietly and they left together.

* * *

"What do you think that lot meant?" Spike asked her as they hurried home.

"I don't know but I'm gonna find out," Buffy said, rounding the corner of Revello Drive. "Giles will have to look at it, tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Slayer, you could be in danger!" Spike protested.

"Spike, listen to me," Buffy said as they reached her house. "Get two things straight. One: Never ever call me Slayer. Buffy is my name, that's what you call me. Two: I am the Slayer, therefor I am usually in danger. On the other hand, I also have powers and am quite equipped to take care of myself. It won't matter if Giles looks at it tonight and falls asleep over it, or tomorrow when he's actually awake. Got it?"

"Got it Sla-Buffy."

* * *

Problem was that Giles was on Spike's side; He was saying that she should have come there the day before. Buffy argued the same points to him as he'd done to Spike, but it was only when Willow reminded the two that they had more important things to do than argue, that the two stopped.

"Yee-ha, research-party!" Xander said sarcastically, as they settled down in the Magic Box, each with two books in front of them.

But when darkness fell outside the little store, none of them had found anything to go on. There wasn't a word in any of the books about anything Spike and Buffy had heard.

"May-maybe they just did it to confuse us," Willow said, half-jokingly.

"I don't think so, Will," Buffy said, seriously. "They talked about a lady; if we only knew who that was."

"Probably a demon of some kind," Giles said. "What interests me is that they need your blood, Buffy, to be able to use the crystal."

"So basically," Xander said, "As long as you don't let them catch you, we're safe."

"Oh yeah, as if I would be planning on letting them catch me," Buffy said sarcastically. "Sorry," she continued when she saw the look on Xander's face. "Didn't mean to be rude."

"It's okay, Buff," Xander smiled a little.

"I wish that we knew what the crystal's name was; It would make searching for information about it just a little easier," Giles sighed.

"They just called it 'the crystal', so I don't know," Buffy answered. "I wish we would have taken one of them, you know, captured on, and then we could ask."

"I'm not sure that would help though," Willow said, "Since minions can be very loyal to their masters."

"Can be, being the key words here," Buffy muttered.

"Buffy, I think we need to get going," Spike said suddenly and pointed at his watch. "Your mum wanted you home for dinner."

"Oh yeah," Buffy said, surprised at Spike for remembering such a thing. "Let me just go and get my stuff."

She came back a minute later and said to the Scoobies, "I'm sorry I have to leave, but mom and dad wanted us home early for some reason today."

"It's okay, Buff," Xander said and Anya nodded beside him. "You've done your share; we'll just continue having fun here among dusty books."

"Thanks you guys," Buffy smiled, and then left the store with Spike. "Do you have a clue of why my parents wanted us home tonight?" she asked him.

"I don't know, pet, but it is for yours and Dawn's ears only, because your mum asked me if I could go out and eat or so tonight."

This worried and surprised Buffy. Since the day Spike had come to their house, he'd been part of the family and done everything with them. She wondered what could be for only the 'real' family's ears. Was there something wrong?

Unconsciously, she sped up, wanting to get to her house fast. The cool November air suddenly seemed even chillier, like it went right through her thin jacket, straight into her bones. When the reached Revello Drive, Spike told her that he was going to the Bronze.

"I'll be back later," he said. "Give you all lots of time."

"Thank you, Spike," Buffy said suddenly.

"For what, pet?"

"I dunno," she said. "For letting us do family business without getting mad, I guess."

Spike just shrugged. "See you lot later," he said and turned around.

Buffy stayed put for a second before running towards her house.

* * *

The first thing she noticed when she came in was that she didn't smell any food. Her mother hadn't made dinner. But she found them all, her mother, her father and Dawn in the dining room, sitting around the table. Her parents both looked very serious, and in Dawn's face Buffy could read the same emotions she was feeling: Fear and worry.

"Hi Buffy," Joyce said, and pointed at a chair, "Sit down, please."

"What's going on?" Buffy asked even before she had had time to sit down.

"Yeah, I'd like to know too," Dawn said.

"Well," their mother started, suddenly looking angrier than Buffy had ever seen her. "As you may have noticed, your dad has spent a lot of time at the office these last months." Her voice was ice cold; it scared Buffy. "And a couple of days ago, I found out why. Your dad has been having an - an affair."

Buffy and Dawn both seemed to have lost their abilities to talk. Buffy's stomach twisted itself into a knot, she felt tears burn behind her eyelids, and suddenly she knew what was coming.

"You-you," she started. "You're getting a di-divorce."

Dawn gasped. She had tears falling down her cheeks.

"Yes," their father said. He seemed very calm, and all of a sudden, Buffy couldn't recognize her own dad. This was not the man who'd stayed up and told her and Dawn stories, he was not the one who'd bought her mother flowers, he was not the one who she'd known. This man she didn't know.

"I'm sorry," he said, and stretched a hand out to touch Buffy's hand.

"Get away from me!" Buffy yelled, pulling her arm away from him. "Get away!"

"Buffy," her father said, but he didn't sound sorry.

"Get away from me," Buffy whispered again. "I'm leaving now, and when I get back, I don't want you to be here."

"Buffy!" Joyce yelled after her, but Buffy didn't stop. She reached for her jacket and she left the house.

* * *

Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She didn't know where she was going, just that it was far away from her home.

Home.

At the moment, she just couldn't think of it as home. It held people she didn't know. She wished that it was two hours ago, back then she was still happily unknowing of her father's betrayal. She didn't know how she would ever be able to talk to him again. The whole scenario made her want to throw up. He dad with another woman...

And her mother. She had looked so mad and so hurt. But at the moment, she didn't want to think of her either, her own feelings being more than enough to try to deal with.

She found herself in the cemetery.

In the shadows, she saw vampires come walking. It was a big group, at least ten ugly creatures, walking another twenty feet away from her.

"The lady must have the Slayer," she heard on say. "Then she can rule."

The others laughed; it was a rotten laugh.

"Oh great, just what I needed," Buffy muttered and quickly wiped away her tears.

The vampires had heard her, and within seconds, they were all over her. Buffy fought for all that she was worth, but she wasn't concentrated and the vampires got in many good blows on her. She staked four, before another one hit her over the head with something hard.

Everything went black.

* * *

"Buffy?"

Joyce stood outside Buffy's room, knocking on her daughter's door. When no one answered, she opened the door.

"Oh god," she whispered when she noticed that Buffy wasn't there. She did a quick search, then walked downstairs to the kitchen, where Spike and Dawn both were sitting.

"Have any of you seen Buffy?" she asked.

"No," the two answered in unison.

"She's not in her room," Joyce said, sounding slightly worried. "I'm going to call her friends."

She disappeared quickly with the phone. Spike and Dawn didn't move from their seats. Dawn kept eating, but Spike couldn't. A terrible feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach, saying that Buffy was in trouble. He stood up to go and talk to Joyce. Dawn looked at him.

"Aren't you gonna finish?" she asked.

"No, Nibblet, I need to go talk to your mum," he said and walked out to the living room where Joyce was saying, "So you haven't seen her? Well, thanks anyway."

She turned around and saw Spike. "She's not at Willow and Tara's, and Giles hasn't seen her. I'm going to try Xander."

Spike nodded and kept quiet as Joyce called, but Buffy hadn't been there either.

"Where could she be?" Joyce asked Spike, now very worried.

"I don't know, Joyce. Did she say where she was going last night?" Spike didn't know everything that had happened the day before, but he knew some and could read from the tension in the house, that it was serious.

"No... No, she just left," Joyce said. "Why didn't I stop her? She was so upset, and when she's upset, she does stupid things..." Her eyes were blank from tears, "She's the Slayer, and she thinks that makes her invincible."

Joyce sat down on the sofa, her legs not holding her up anymore. Spike sat down next to her and said, "Don't worry, we'll get her back." He wished that he felt as sure as he tried to sound. "She's made it so far, hasn't she?"

"Yeah, but..."

"No buts. I'm going to the Magic Box, and her mates will find her. Don't worry."

* * *

The Scooby Gang met at the Box less than half an hour later. Willow and Tara, hand in hand, both looked worried. Xander came in with Anya in tow just a little after Spike arrived. Giles was taking to a customer as the gang started discussing.

"Wiccas, could you do a locator spell, you think?" Spike asked.

"Sure, that's easy," Willow answered.

"D-Do you have a map? That's t-the easiest way," Tara wondered.

Giles got her a map and the Wiccas started doing the spell.

"I hope that she hasn't just taken into a hotel now," Anya said. "Me and Xander had to stop..."

Xander put a hand over her mouth. "It's really not necessary to tell them, An," he said.

"Xander, can you collect some bloody weapons, instead of talking of sex with your girlfriend?" Spike asked in a low voice. "Buffy could be in danger; we need to find her."

"Since when did you start caring so much about Buff, Spike?" Xander wondered, amused at the Englishman's distressed statement.

"I don't, but I assume you do, mate, so start digging weapons," Spike threatened, not really wanting to show how worried he was.

They all got to work. Spike mostly paced, walking back and forth thinking of Buffy and who had taken her.

Buffy.

She was the most stubborn, annoying, childish... bravest, gorgeous... He didn't know when it had happened, but he had gotten feelings for her. He had strong feelings. For the Slayer. Well, weirder things had happened.

"We've got it!" Tara suddenly burst out, pointing to a spot on the Sunnydale map.

"That place," Giles said, "It is known as an holdout for various creatures, all non human. It is a very dangerous place."

"Yeah, it must be, for them to be able to hold Buff," Xander said. "She doesn't go without a fight."

"Well, what are we bloody waiting for?" Spike asked. "The longer we wait, the more chance they have to hurt her."

"And you're absolutely not worried," Xander mocked him.

"And you fellas not?" he asked. Xander shrugged. "Get off my case then, mate," Spike continued.

They got weapons: Crossbows, stakes, axes and various other items. Giles was the only one who stayed, to keep the shop running. He had given them detailed instructions on what to do, though.

* * *

They reached the place in no time, although it to all of them felt like forever. The place was an old house, which had seen better days. Back then, it had been white; now it was gray from dirt and flaked off color. The windows were all covered, and the whole place had a scary feeling to it. It was the perfect hide out.

"Okay," Spike said. "You go two and two. Red and Tara, Xander and Anya. Remember, the most important thing is to get the Slayer out safely. Everyone's got weapons?"

They all nodded. "Then let's go and kick some sodden demon ass."

The gang crept slowly in the door. It creaked as they opened, and once they were inside, they split up like Spike had said.

Willow and Tara took to the left, through a room that looked like it might have been the living room earlier on. Through slits in the windows a dim light shone in, making the room look spooky. Everything was deadly quiet.

Xander and Anya sneaked up the stairs to the right. They too creaked as they went, and the two were scared that they might attract the attention of whatever creatures inhabited the house. On the second floor, a vampire came at them, but it was quickly discarded as Xander drove a stake through its heart.

Spike had walked straight into the house. When that floor didn't give him anything, he found another set of stairs, which he went up. On the second floor, he found Xander and Anya again, and they decided, all three, to go up to the third floor.

"This is really spooky," Anya complained. "I don't want to be here."

"You don't have a choice, An," Xander responded, quietly, as Spike gestured to them to be quiet.

On the third floor they discovered the first sign of life in the house. Thousands of flickering lights were set out on the floor, in every room they passed. Suddenly, they were attacked. Five vampires jumped at them, game faces on. Spike kicked the first one to the floor, then right handed the second one over to Xander, who drove the stake through the vampire's heart. Anya kicked the third one with the heel of her shoe, grounding it to the floor, before staking it. Spike staked the first one, then took care of the other two in a matter of seconds, with help from Anya and Xander.

"C'mon, we're getting closer to something," Spike muttered to the two, and they made their way up the stairs where the candles continued. They did no longer care to be quiet; they knew the inhabitants knew they were there.

But nothing could have prepared them for the fourth floor.

Vampires everywhere, bowing on their knees, all facing the middle. There, on a podium, stood a demoness with long black hair and a black dress, holding a knife with both hands, swinging it back and forth while chanting in some language they Spike, Xander and Anya did not know. Next to the demoness though, was the thing that made their hearts stop.

Buffy sat there, staring out over the vampires with an empty look. She was dressed in a long black dress. Her face was beaten, bruised and she didn't seem to know what she was doing.

"Where are the Wiccas?" Spike asked, quietly. They were sitting hid behind a big wooden balk.

"Right here," Willow panted. "Oh my gosh."

"Red, do you know what the bloody hell that bitch is doing?" Spike asked Willow and pointed at the demoness in the middle.

"She's chanting, in ... ancient Latin, I think," Willow answered. "The vampires are under her control, in some kind of trance, I believe."

"W-we need to get going," Tara mumbled, "The spell is a-almost finished."

Spike nodded. "Can you do a spell to help us with the vampires or something?"

"We can do a slowing spell, s-so they won't be able to move so fast," Willow offered.

"Do whatever. I'm going; we need the bloody Slayer out of here."

With that, he, with Xander in tow, leaped out among the vampires. Willow and Tara began chanting, and Anya looked after her boyfriend for a second, before deciding to join him.

Stakes were put through the one un-beating heart after the other, but the amount of vampires in the room was enormous. The three Scoobies were slowly making their way through the crowd, but not without getting hurt. Vampires hit them, kicked them, and turned the stakes so they penetrated the human flesh instead.

"- Slow evil creatures down!" Spike heard the Wiccas finish the spell, and suddenly, the room seemed to stop dead. The staking went faster, because the vampires could hardly defend themselves.

"Red! Get that bitch to stop chanting!" Spike screamed to Willow and she nodded. With her hand in Tara's, the two started fighting their way to the middle of the room.

Spike fought furiously and got there first. He grabbed hold of the demoness' black dress, getting her unbalanced. She stopped chanting for a second, but then she kicked Spike in the face, and continued. Spike crawled up on the podium and stood between the demoness and Buffy. She was beautiful but Spike had learned to not go by looks.

"Go away, you silly man," the demoness breathed.

"I'm not going to let you hurt her, bitch," Spike said, anger glowing in his eyes.

"Then I'll just kill you," she said, and with one slash of the knife, she had sliced his chest up. Spike screamed in pain, but instead of falling to the floor, he grabbed hold of the demoness, and turned the knife she was holding towards her. He was holding the blade, and it was cutting into his hand making it bleed. But he didn't care. He pressed on, and with one last push, he shoved it through her hand. She screamed, then exploded in a heap of red dust, and together with her all the vampires around her dusted to, as if it was suddenly raining stakes.

Spike stood panting, still holding the knife. Then he turned around to Buffy, who still sat and stared out, her eyes showing nothing.

"B-Buffy?" he asked.

He untied her quickly and picked her up in his arms. They got down from the podium and he walked over to the Scoobies.

"Should we take her to the hospital, you think, Red?" he asked Willow.

"I-I don't know. I think we should take her home, her-her Slaying powers usually do the rest."

So they did. Slowly, they descended the stairs, which were now all dark since the lights had gone out when the demoness had exploded. When they got outside, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They all felt the same thing; If they were never to enter that house again, it would be too soon.

* * *

Spike put Buffy down on her bed, with everyone watching. She had her eyes closed now and seemed to be unconscious. She hadn't moved or said anything since they first saw her at the house, and that scared them all. She wasn't usually this way. Normally, she would be up, fighting new demons by now.

"I'm guessing they drugged her pretty bad or something," Willow said to Joyce, who was sitting on the bed, holding her eldest daughter's hand.

"Are you sure we shouldn't take her to the hospital?" Anya asked, but no one answered.

Spike, who'd left the room, came back with a first aid kit in his hands. Slowly and carefully, he began cleaning the cuts and bruises on the Slayer's face.

"Well," Xander said, "Since there's not much more we can do, maybe we should go."

"Yeah, we should," Willow said. "Good bye, Joyce, bye, Spike."

They all said good bye to each other, and after Joyce had thanked them all for bringing her daughter home, they left. Joyce left the room to see them out and to go talk to Dawn of what had happened, which left Spike alone with Buffy. He tended the wounds on her forehead, then took her jacket off, revealing even more cuts.

"Buffy, you need to wake up," he mumbled and stroke some hair out of her face. "You can't just lay there, your friends need you, you know. And your family. Especially Dawn, I think, because she's really upset about your parents' divorce." He looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, I shouldn't talk about that I guess. I know you were really upset about it, pet. But don't worry, it will be okay." He paused, and kissed her forehead gently. "I need you too, you know. For some bloody reason, I've come to like you, you know."

Suddenly, Buffy moved, and she opened her eyes.

"Why hello Slayer," Spike said with a grin.

"S-Spike? Where am I?" she asked very quietly, and looked around with fear in her eyes. "Where is she?"

"Don't worry, love, she's gone," Spike said softly and stroke gently over her bruised forehead.

"You-you saved me?" she asked, staring at him.

"Yes, me and the other Scoobies. Now, you need to relax. Although you might want to get out of those clothes, pet. Not very comfy to sleep in, I imagine."

Buffy continued to stare at him as if she still wasn't sure it was really him, or that she was home, safe. The drugs or whatever magic that bitch had used on her still had its hold on her, Spike thought grimly.

He helped her sit up and she took of her shirt, revealing her bra. He looked away, feeling his own arousal as he saw her like that, but intent on not using her when she was in this state. It wouldn't be fair to her. Instead, he handed her her nightgown, which she put on. Then she took of her pants, and he helped her in bed, thinking that maybe he should get Joyce instead.

But Buffy's words stopped him.

"Stay with me," she asked.

"Okay, pet," he said and sat down on the side of her bed, holding her right hand as she fell back asleep.

* * *

Buffy woke in the morning feeling much better than the night before. The room was light; it was nice to see the sun again. She noticed that someone was still holding her hand.

Spike.

He was sitting by her, asleep him too. It was an odd feeling to have him hold her like that, but she found that - to her own surprise - she liked it.

She nudged his arm to wake him. He stirred and opened his eyes.

"Hey," she said softly.

He looks cute, she thought. Hey, was the next thought, that's not what you're supposed to think of him!

"Hey. Feeling better now?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Although, you'll have to fill me in on what happened, 'cause I don't remember it all."

"Sure, pet."

He seemed to realize that he was still holding her hand, and he quickly let go. He stood up, and suddenly Buffy could see the angry red gash he had over his chest.

"Spike, you're hurt!" she exclaimed, sitting up.

"It's nothing, pet."

"Come here, let me see," she said, ignoring him.

Reluctantly, he sat down next to her. Gently, she ran her fingers over it. "It won't need stitches, I think," she said, "But we need to put something on it so it doesn't get infected."

"What love, you worried about me?"

"Yeah, just like you were for me, Spike. My memory might have been clouded, but not that bad."

"Oh bloody hell, don't tell me you heard what I said," he groaned. "I was delirious, or something."

"Spike, it was sweet."

"I didn't mean... Huh? What did you say?" He stopped dead in his denial.

"It was sweet. I liked it."

"Oh."

An awkward silence fell. Neither knew what to say. Finally, Buffy looked around and saw the first aid kit. She grabbed it and began working on Spike's chest. He winced in pain as she put disinfecting alcohol on a piece of fabric and taped it there with hospital tape. She had also noticed his bloody hand, and she took a look at it. There were three long cuts reaching from one side of his palm to the other. She disinfected that too, and then wrapped his hand up.

"That's better," she said and smiled a little. "We should go downstairs."

"Um... Yeah, sure, pet."

"Just let me get dressed."

He nodded and left the room. She remembered how he'd helped her that night before, and she could still feel his warm hand holding hers. It had been nice.

* * *

Her father moved out of the house that following week. One day when Buffy got home from school, all his clothes were gone, and she found her little sister crying in the kitchen.

"Dawn? Dawnie? What is it?"

"He's gone," the younger girl sobbed and looked up at her sister. Buffy sat down beside her on the couch and hugged Dawn, who clung to her.

"I know, Dawn," she whispered. "I know it's hard, sweetie."

"He's not coming back," Dawn said, still letting her being hold by Buffy. "He took all his stuff, and he told me to take care of me. He left - He left like he was some friend who was leaving after a visit."

"Shh," Buffy whispered. "It's okay... You'll see him again, don't worry. Everything will be all right."

"But I don't want him to go! I want it to be like it was before, Buffy," she sobbed. "I hate him like this; I don't want him to be with someone else than mom!"

Buffy just sat there, whispering soothing words to her little sister, while not really knowing what to say, because she felt the same way. Finally, Dawn told her that she was going to her room, and Buffy nodded. Dawn left. Just seconds later, Buffy heard someone enter the house.

"How are you, Nibblet?" she heard Spike ask her sister.

"I'm okay, Spike," was the response. Creaks from the wooden stairs told her her sister had left.

Spike came into the living room, backpack on his back and a jacket on.

"Hello, pet," he said to Buffy.

"Hi Spike," Buffy responded in a tone that implied, I'm not in the mood for a fight.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked and sat down where Dawn had just been sitting.

"Nothing," Buffy mumbled, but when she noticed Spike's gaze, she added, "It's dad. My parents' divorce. It upsets Dawn and it upsets me."

"Well of course it does, pet. Why wouldn't it? My parents split up when I was six years old, so it was a while ago, but I still remember the pain. It hurts like hell, and it feels like it's your fault. Right?"

Buffy closed her eyes and nodded.

"Listen to me, Buffy," Spike said and held a finger under her jaw. "It is not your fault. It wouldn't have mattered if you would have been home more, skipped some slaying, or helped more. It would still have happened. No one is to blame but your dad and his decisions, okay?"

She was quiet. Finally she nodded, and said with tears in her eyes, "How come you know me so well?"

"I pay attention, pet. Just promise me that you won't blame yourself, all right?"

Buffy nodded. "I'm gonna try."

"Good girl." He put a hand on her shoulder and she surprised herself by leaning on him.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?" He looked puzzled.

"For everything. For saving me that first time, for helping me with the math, for being nice - at times at least," she smiled, "for rescuing me last week, and for just being you, always."

"That's a lot of thank yous, pet," he smiled.

"I know. And you deserve every one of them." She smiled back at him and snuggled closer to him. It felt so nice to be the one being held for once.

"Well, you're welcome, love." He decided to be brave, and planted a kiss on her forehead. She tensed for a second, then relaxed back in his arms. It felt so good.

* * *

Christmas was getting closer. Outside, it was very cold, so people kept inside. The stores were Christmas decorating, with green, red and silvery colors, Christmas trees, little Santa Clauses and various other items, all making it look like Yuletide.

"What do you want for Christmas?" Willow asked Buffy on December eighteenth, just days before Santa would come. Of course, neither Buffy nor Willow believed in him anymore, but it was interesting to think, 'what if'.

At the moment, the two girls were sitting at a café, both drinking hot chocolates.

"I dunno," Buffy shrugged.

"Oh come on, Buffy, there must be something..." Willow whined, taking a zip of her drink.

I want my dad back, Buffy thought sadly. He had been gone for almost two months, and he hadn't as much as called. Buffy figured he was happy to be out. But even so, it made her sad to think that this Christmas, not all the family was going to be there. She had never had a family member missing at Christmas, never.

"Will, I don't want anything. I would like to just forget Christmas, not have it happen at all."

"You miss your dad, don't you," Willow said softly.

Buffy was quiet for a second before answering, "Yeah, I do. Oh Will, I don't know how I'm gonna get through Christmas. It's gonna be so horrible."

Willow reached out to Buffy and hugged her friend. "Don't worry," she said, "It will be okay."

"Everyone keeps telling me that, but I just can't see that it will. It just hurts, all of it, and it feels like it is going to hurt forever."

"Well, I don't know what to say," Willow said, "Because I have never been through it. But you know that I'll be here for whatever you need, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"So, what do you say we go out and do some serious Christmas shopping. I still have to get stuff for Xander and Giles; who do you have left?"

"Everyone. I haven't bought anything for anyone."

"Buffy! It's like a week till Christmas - don't you think you should get started?"

"Sure," Buffy said, but she didn't feel very enthusiastic.

"Well then, let's go," Willow said. They finished their cups of chocolate and left the café.

* * *

All in all, they ended up having a good time, Buffy had to admit. It was quite a lot of fun, and Buffy managed to get presents for everyone. She felt proud of herself about that for some reason. She was glad that Willow had made her go out with her.

There was a knock on her door. Hastily, Buffy put the unwrapped presents underneath her bed and finished wrapping Dawn's, which was the one she'd been working on for the last few minutes.

"Come in," she said, and the door opened. "Hi Spike."

"Hello," he said. "What are you doing with all that bloody wrapping stuff?"

"Guess twice."

"Hey, no need to get bitchy, pet," he exclaimed, looking offended.

Buffy didn't look up; she continued working on the bow on Dawn's present. When she was done, she wrote a little card saying, 'to Dawn from Buffy - Merry Christmas, little sis', then put it on her bed among the other finished presents.

"Cute," Spike said, looking at the card.

"Hey, you're not supposed to read! Not before Christmas, at least."

"How else am I supposed to know if it's for me, pet?" he asked, looking innocent.

God, he's so cute when he does that, Buffy thought.

"You're not!" Buffy bellowed and snatched the presents away from him. It didn't matter that his present wasn't among the lot in her arms - it was under her bed with the other gifts she hadn't wrapped it yet - it was just the principle that he shouldn't see any of the presents before Christmas Day.

"Not sodden fair," Spike whined, although a smile played in the corners of his mouth.

"Life isn't fair, bleach boy," Buffy teased.

"Ooh, Slayer getting on her high horses again," Spike smiled and moved closer to her.

"I am not. And by the way, if you get one step closer, I am going to hit you," she warned. She knew he'd do it.

"Oh really?" Spike mocked, and took another step.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Buffy whispered as she pushed him back on the bed.

He landed with a thump.

"Ouch, what was that good for?" he asked her, rubbing the back of his head.

She came walking over to the bed. He looked so innocent and suddenly, an urge of needing to kiss him hit her. She bent down and planted a kiss on his mouth. He seemed surprised at first, but it didn't take him long to realize what they were doing, and he kissed her back.

His lips are so soft and warm, she thought and pressed her tongue into his mouth. It felt so good, and she didn't understand why she hadn't done it before. Why had she hated him? She couldn't remember.

She rolled off him, panting. It was all going a little too fast. She just lay in his arms, and it felt good. It felt safe, away from the chaos going on in her life.

"Can I stay here tonight?" he asked her.

"Sure," she answered quietly, already half asleep.

She snuggled up closer to him. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

Beside her, with his arm still around her, Spike lay, just looking at her. Damn she's beautiful, he thought. That kiss they had shared... It had been nothing short of amazing. Her lips, so warm and sweet, better than anyone he had ever kissed before. Maybe it was the fact that he had been waiting for that kiss for so long that made it so great, but he knew it wasn't only that. He was in love with her. Now, that was the easy part. Getting her to fall in love would be a little harder, he thought.

* * *

The next day, Buffy awoke slowly. She was only half-aware that someone had an arm around her, and when she turned around and saw that it belonged to Spike, she quickly pushed it away.

Oh god, she thought, what have I done. She remembered their kiss, how good it had felt, but... It wasn't right. She wasn't in love with him. And now she had led him on, giving him false hope. He was a good - great - friend, nothing else.

She touched his arm to wake him.

"Spike," she muttered to the sleeping figure, "Spike, you need to get up."

"Huh? Pet? What... Oh yeah," he mumbled, realization of where he was and why coming over his face. "Good morning, pet."

"Spike, you need to get out of here."

"What? Why?"

She didn't answer him, just pulled him off her bed.

"Hey, Buffy, wait a second," he exclaimed. "You're not saying that - that what happened last night was a mistake, are you?"

She looked up at his startled statement. "Spike," she began, "I am not in love you. What happened with you yesterday - It-it wasn't supposed to happen."

"So it was all a sodden mistake for you?" Hurt was beginning to take over his face.

"You know it wasn't supposed to be..." She trailed off, reading on his face that he didn't see it as a mistake, and he thought it was supposed to be.

"Well, Slayer," he said, his voice suddenly hard. "I hope you had fun, because it is not going to happen again." With those words, he left, slamming the door so the walls shook as he walked out of her room. She sunk down on her bed, her head in her hands. What had she done?

* * *

Later that day, at one, a sad Buffy made her way into the Magic Box. All the Scoobies, all smiling and wishing her an early Merry Christmas met her there.

"We thought you would never show up," Anya said with only a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Now can we open presents?"

"Buffy, where is Spike?" Willow asked coming over and hugging her friend. "I thought you said he was going to come too."

"He - He had made other plans," Buffy lied quietly, knowing that Spike was sitting at home, in his room with a closed door.

"Oh. Well, that's too bad," Willow responded. "I got him a present."

She walked back over to Tara and sat down.

The reason they were having the gift exchange so early this year was because both Tara and Xander were going away with their parents over Christmas, so the gang had decided to have the present opening early. So now, they all sat down around the table, and each had a bag full of wrapped presents in it.

"Who wants to start then?" Xander asked.

"Let's take one present at the time," Willow said. "One gives one present, then the next one gives one present, you know."

The gang agreed, and soon they were all deeply involved in giving out gift and guessing what they contained. Packages were shaken, cards read, but nothing was opened. As their bags emptied out, the heaps in front of them increased in size. Even Giles seemed to be having a good time.

"Okay, I think that's all," Willow said, nodding at all the bags which were now lying empty on the floor.

"Yeah, let's start opening some of these goodies," Xander smiled, his eyes twinkling like a child's.

Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of paper being ripped. Buffy started with a present from Willow. It contained a blue top that Buffy had been looking at for a while.

"Thanks, Will, I love it!" she exclaimed to her friend.

"You're welcome. Thanks to you too, by the way. These earrings are just beautiful," she smiled.

Buffy continued on her heap, after each present she thanked the giver. She got a cute but revealing dress from Anya, a CD from Giles - "They guy in the shop said it was what you youngsters listen to now," he had explained, blushing -, the first Harry Potter book from Tara, which she was a little surprised at.

"Well, I-I love those books, so I thought you might want to-to read them," she explained.

"I'm sure I will enjoy them," Buffy said honestly, "As long as I have time to read them." Tara had smiled at her at this comment.

A pang hit her when Buffy had opened all her gifts that she hadn't given all of hers away. Of course, the ones for her family were still in her closet waiting for Christmas Day. But one, one of those presents, the one for Spike, she had intended to give away today.

Oh well, she thought, pushing the bad feeling away. I'll give it to him on Christmas morning instead.

They all sat and talked for the rest of the night. At one thirty in the morning, though, a tired Scooby Gang decided to call it a night. With another set of 'Merry Christmases', they broke up and each left for home. Xander and Tara, Buffy wouldn't see again until school started, but the others were staying and they promised they'd meet up for other things than slaying during the break. Giles said that he'd be coming by her house on Christmas Day. Buffy knew that that was just as much to see her mother, as it was to see her. She smiled at the thought.

* * *

Christmas came and passed much more peacefully than Buffy had expected it to. Even doing it all without her father around went all right; Dawn too was in a good mood. The only cloud in the sky at the moment was that she and Spike were not even talking to each other, which bugged her, because he'd used to help her a lot, with all different things. But it wasn't just that she missed his help; she missed talking to him and teasing him. She didn't like having him turn around every time he saw her and leave the room every time she entered. She missed her friend.

* * *

School started again and once again, Buffy was juggling school with Slayer duties. Slaying seemed to take up more and more time; the Hellmouth seemed to be quite active at the moment, which tired the Slayer out enormously. She could be up until two and tree in the morning, just slaying ugly vampires, who decided that the Slayer wasn't such a big threat after all. Buffy couldn't remember when she had last gotten a whole, full eight hours worth of sleep. Not even on the weekends could she relax, since she was getting behind in her schoolwork and was getting behind, and with Giles' training, her weekends were booked. Classes, she had decided, was the only time she had to sleep.

"Buffy, wake up!" Willow pushed her friend in the side and Buffy awoke.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," she smiled sheepishly.

"You really should listen a-a little to the class," Willow said.

"Well, I'm trying, but I'm just tired, you know."

"I know what we'll do," Willow said happily.

"You're not going to patrol tonight!"

"Will... I have to," Buffy said tiredly.

"No you don't. We'll do it for you. And you stay home and sleep, for once."

"You sure?" Buffy asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I am. I don't think the other ones will object either. You need to rest, even Giles has said so."

This was true; Buffy's Watcher had indeed told her during their last practice that she wasn't concentrated and that she needed get better rest.

"Fine," Buffy said. "I'll go home and sleep. If the others agree," she added.

They walked by a couple of seniors in the hallway, who were working on putting up posters.

"Oh that's right," Willow said, pointing at the poster. "The Winter Formal dance is coming up. Are you gonna go?"

"No," Buffy answered. "If someone asks me I guess I'll do it, but otherwise no. I'm not really in the mood to get all dressed up like a stupid Barbie doll."

"Buffy, is something wrong?" Willow asked.

"Nah, not really. Nothing other than the usual." She had told Willow weeks earlier that she and Spike were fighting, and although Willow felt bad for Spike, she was on Buffy's side; if she didn't want to be romantically involved with Spike, she shouldn't be.

"So, are you gonna go?" Buffy asked, referring to the dance.

"Who knows, Tara and I might actually do it. I'll just have to see how much it costs; I'm not too high on money at the moment."

Buffy smiled at the comment, recognizing her own situation. She didn't have that much money either.

* * *

Sleeping had never felt so good before, Buffy thought the next day as she awoke for the first time in weeks, completely rested.

Suddenly, Buffy's door opened.

"Buffy?" It was Spike. "Buffy, are you awake?"

"Yeah, I am," Buffy said sitting up in her bed, surprised that Spike was actually talking to it. "What is it?"

"Willow's in the hospital," Spike said uneasily, looking away from her.

"What?!" Buffy jumped off her bed. "She'll be okay, though, right?"

"They - they don't know," Spike mumbled.

"Oh my gosh, this is all my fault," Buffy whispered. "I should have gone patrolling with you yesterday..."

"Calm down, Slayer," Spike said, his words soft but his voice as cold as ice. Just like it had been every time he had had to address her the last few weeks, Buffy thought sadly, then returning her thoughts to Willow.

"It wasn't a demon, it was a car accident. You couldn't have done anything about it. We were walking home when this bloody car came out of nowhere and hit her."

"I need to go there," Buffy said, putting on her clothes. It was a school day, but she didn't care. She needed to see her friend. Oh god, Willow...

* * *

They reached the hospital in less time than they thought possible. Spike walked ahead of her up the stairs to where the other Scoobies and Willow's mother were sitting. Xander holding Anya's hand, Giles pacing back and forth, and Tara sitting staring out with an empty look, tears slowly making their way down her cheeks. Buffy sat down by her and hugged her. Tara didn't say anything; she just leaned on Buffy and shook with tears.

They sat there for hours, waiting for news. The Scoobies had already been there for several hours before she came, Buffy realized. They had decided to let her sleep, since that was what Willow had wanted the day before.

Her last wish, Buffy thought sadly, before pushing the thought away. She's not gone yet, and she's not going to go anywhere - be positive!

A while later, a doctor came to them, a faint smile on his face. He talked to Willow's parents for a while, and then he left. It relieved Buffy to see that they weren't crying when they turned around. She took this as a good sign.

"Well, how is she?" Xander asked worriedly.

"The doctor said she'd broken both her legs, one arm and punctured one lung, and she has a concussion. But the doctor says she's going to make it."

This made the whole Scooby Gang cheer.

* * *

None but her parents were allowed in until later that day. Giles decided that the best thing to do would be for them all to go to school, so that they would have something to do. If anything changed at the hospital, he'd call them. So, reluctantly, Buffy, Spike, Xander and Anya went to school. Tara stayed.

"I-I am not moving, until I have s-seen her" she said, and both Giles and everyone else knew it wouldn't do any good to try and convince the Wicca to change her mind.

Buffy tried hard to concentrate on her classes, but her mind kept drifting off to the hospital. It was her fault, all her fault. If she had gone patrolling the day before, Willow wouldn't have, then Willow wouldn't have been hurt. If she hadn't been complaining that she was tired, Willow wouldn't have offered to go instead of her, and she wouldn't have been hurt. If Buffy had concentrated a little harder on all her duties and been more like a Slayer, she wouldn't have been tired, Willow wouldn't have offered, and she wouldn't have gotten hurt. If, if, if. Every thought that passed her mind ended with, It's my fault.

By the time the last bell rang to let them out of school, Buffy had worked up herself both a headache and slight hysteria, and she was almost in tears at the thought of Willow.

"Buff," Xander tried to comfort her in the car on the way back to the hospital, "She'll be okay."

"But it's my fault," Buffy whispered. "If I would have gone instead of you yesterday -"

Xander broke her off, saying, "You couldn't have known. Willow knows as well as I do that you would never do anything to hurt us. It is not your fault," he said again, shooting a look at Spike, who sat next to him in the driver's seat, and who had snorted at Xander's comment that she would never hurt any of them.

"She really doesn't need to hear that now," he muttered to Spike.

"Oh sod off mate," Spike responded, never taking his eyes off the road.

* * *

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