Title: An Unspoken Truce
Author: Joyce
Rating: Pg-Pg13ish (Whole Series)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel the Series characters. They belong to 20th Century Fox, and Joss Whedon. Also I am making no profit off this story. Please don’t sue, I’m just a poor college student.
Summary: First of all this is Buffy/Spike!!! Buffy and Spike form an unspoken truce as they come up against a fire demon that be!
Spoilers: Anything up to the Season 4 finals of both Buffy and Angel is fair game.

Spike sat upright as a crash of thunder boomed through the early evening sky. He looked around his crypt trying once again to remember exactly when unlife became so dull.

When he was running with Dru, they had lived the vampire high-life. Only the nicest abandoned warehouses and mansions were graced with their presence. Yes, those were the days.

Spike was brought out of his reverie by cold drops of water on his head, falling through the leaking roof. It was time for a drink!

“Buffy, it’s raining! Why are we patrolling?” Riley asked his girlfriend as they ducked under a large tree for cover.

“The rain doesn’t keep the bad guys home, see?” she pointed at Spike who was currently headed toward Willy’s.

Spike wouldn’t be going to Willy’s, would he? Buffy felt a knot in her stomach as she watched the blond vampire duck inside the bar. Stop it! Spike has been taking care of himself for a long time now. Besides, he wasn’t her responsibility, right?

“Buffy? Are you listening?” Riley’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just a little tired.” she told him.

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, “Well, we could always go back to my place.”

“Oh, look! The rain is letting up. Let’s go!” The Slayer broke away leaving a confused and frustrated boyfriend behind her.

Spike scanned the bar relieved to see no one he recognized. Sitting on a stool he ordered his drink, then put his head in his hands. Oh, yes, he was going to get drunk tonight.

The rain had finally stopped, and Buffy had convinced Riley to let her do one more sweep before returning to his place. She glanced all around her praying for something to delay their return.

Why was she avoiding him? Oh, well maybe it was because of a conversation she had over heard, between him and Graham. Tears stung her eyes as she remembered Riley saying how he was getting bored with her. But that wasn’t the worst . No, after that he’d said that since coming back from his debriefing he just hadn’t felt the same around her, and that he didn’t know how much more he could stand of her friends, and weird lifestyle. When they got back to his place she would confront him, if she didn’t chicken out again!

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the distraction that she’d been praying for. A man on fire.

“That guy’s on fire.” Riley pointed, but Buffy was already running toward him.

“All I’ve done for them!” Spike slammed his drink on the bar beckoning Willy for another.

“Uh, Spike? Don’t ya think you’ve had enough?”

Spike’s growl was all Willy needed to hear. He quickly refilled the glass, before any trouble was started.

“I helped her! Sort of. “ Spike was pretty drunk by now. “I saved her mates! And what thanks do I get? None! No one even came by to see if I was ok! “

He paused to slam back another drink, unaware of the audience he had on the other side of the bar.

“That’s the last time I help the Slayer and her chums.”

“You helped the Slayer?!” A big, ugly vampire yelled as he stood and made his way toward Spike.

Spike stared up at the growing number of angry vampires who were about to use him as a punching bag. “Bloody Hell!”

Buffy suddenly stopped, causing Riley to bump into her.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s evil.” she said and watched in horror as “it” set a house on fire. It wasn’t a man on fire; it was a demon. And the fire wasn’t burning him!

At that moment the fire demon turned and looked her in the eye.

“Soon!” it said, before dashing away into the night.

Buffy was about to go after it when she heard a cry for help coming from inside the burning house. Reluctantly she turned toward the fire and focused on saving the people inside. She’d have to worry about catching it later.

Smoke stung her eyes as soon as she entered the house. The first person she saw was a woman who didn’t look much older than she was. Still, the woman was trying to round up two toddlers to get them out of the house. The woman was very pregnant, and when Buffy went to help her, she said there was also a baby upstairs. Handing the woman and children over to Riley, who’d finally caught up with her, Buffy dashed up the stairs toward the baby’s room.

“This is not good.” Willy said to himself as he watched six huge, angry, vampires drag a very drunk Spike out the back door.

If Spike was helping the Slayer now, she would want to know about this. Sighing heavily, Willy got someone to watch the bar, and hurried off to find the Slayer.

Buffy cradled the squalling baby against her chest, and headed back toward the stairs. The heat from the flames around her was unbearable!

A loud crash sounded. Buffy watched in dismay as the stairs caved in, making them impossible to climb down.

Smoke stung her eyes, and she felt as if someone was knifing her in the lungs as coughs racked her body.

Buffy squinted through the thick smoke and spotted a window at the end of the hall.

Taking a deep breath, Buffy did the best she could to shield the baby as she ran for the small window. Bracing herself, she sailed through the air, glass shattering around her. Unfortunately her feet slipped as soon as she hit the ground, and she ended up landing hard on her tailbone in the front yard.

A fire truck and ambulance had finally arrived. As the firemen began the task of controlling the fire, a paramedic came and took the baby from Buffy.

She watched solemnly as the family was whisked away in the ambulance. Where would they go now?

Buffy grimaced in pain as she started walking toward her boyfriend. Was it possible to sprain your tailbone? She really hoped it wasn’t broken. Oh well, this meant no sex with Riley tonight! Darn!

She frowned as she saw Willy walking towards her, looking very distressed. If Willy was seeking her out then something must really be wrong.

“This is it.” Spike thought, as he lay flat on his back. “I’m going to hell.”

As the lead vampire drew back his hand that held a wooden stake, Spike’s unlife flashed before his eyes.

He was an idiot! Here he’d been given the opportunity to ally himself with the good guys, and he’d screwed up. Spike had loved being bad, no doubt about that, but the bad only ended up in one place. Blood-tears filled his eyes as he sent up a prayer to whoever’d listen, for one more chance.

Suddenly the ugly demon above him transformed into a beautiful, golden, angel in a cloud of dust. No, it was just the Slayer with a stake in her hand. Would he ever learn his lesson about drinking too much?

“You’re welcome!” Buffy huffed at the drunk vampire at her feet.

“Thanks,” he rasped, before his head fell to the ground, eyes closing.

Spike slowly came back to consciousness at the sound of angry voices.

“This is ridiculous, Buffy! He is not your problem. I swear, sometimes I think you care more about that vampire than you do about me.” Riley pouted.

“Riley, quit acting like a three year old!” she said, teeth clenched.

“You’re a vampire slayer. You’re supposed to slay vampires, not help them!”

“Spike is different! He’s...well he’s Spike.”

“Oh yeah? You gonna sleep with him like you did that other vampire?” Buffy’s fist introduced itself to Riley’s face.

“Go home, Riley, you’re done here!” she glared at him.

“Fine, Killer, if that’s the way you want it.” he spun on his heel and quickly headed for home.

Buffy dropped to her knees as soon as he was out of site. Huge tears began to silently roll down her dirty cheeks.

Spike groaned, and sat up. “Well, it can’t get any worse, can it?” he asked.

A loud boom of thunder signaled the skies to open up and a harsh downpour quickly drenched the two blonds.

Wordlessly, they looked at one another before the laughter started.

“You had to ask!” Buffy gasped out between giggles.

“C’mon, Goldilocks, let’s get out of the rain.” Spike said as he offered her his hand.

End Part 1