Title:A Home For the Homeless
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 plan what to do with their money, meanwhile the fire demon strikes again!
Spoilers: Anything up to the Season 4 finals of both Buffy and Angel is fair game.

Buffy scanned the quiet night streets of Sunnydale outside Giles' building, before glancing at her watch, again. It was quickly approaching midnight, and no fire demon in sight. Her mind wasn't really on the fire demon, though. She was still in shock from receiving $4 million earlier that day.

She and Spike had decided not to share the news with the others just yet. They wanted a chance to discuss what they would do with the money, without hearing everyone else's opinion first.

So they'd agreed to meet later that night after they'd taken care of the fire demon. It was now almost morning, and Buffy was getting tired.

When the clock struck midnight, Buffy headed inside. As she opened the door, five anxious faces looked at her. She shook her head.

"No sign of inferno boy." the Slayer sat down on the couch with a sigh.

"Maybe Cordelia was wrong about the date." Xander said through a yawn.

"According to Angel, her visions are always right on the time." Willow added.

Suddenly Buffy felt that something was wrong.

"Has Spike checked in yet?"

Her uneasiness grew as everyone shook there heads.

It was quiet. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. And then, from out of nowhere, a scream pierced the air loud enough to wake the dead.

"Spike! " Buffy bolted out the door, the others at her heels.

Spike looked up from the vampire he'd just dusted, to determine where the scream had come from. What he saw made shivers run up his spine.

The fire demon had grabbed hold of another fledgling vampire, who was now burning to death. But the disturbing thing was that all he had to do was touch the vampire, and it burned. At first the fledgling had tried to beat it out, and then rolled around on the ground. Finally, one of his clan had picked him up, and hauled him into a nearby pond. Even drenched in the murky water the flames kept going strong until they had consumed the young vampire turning him to ash.

Spike looked over to see that Buffy and the gang had arrived in time to witness the disturbing scene. His eyes locked with hers as they realized the horror of the situation. How could they stop it, if they couldn't put the fire out.

Suddenly the fire demon was right beside him. The monster reached out a burning, index finger toward Spike and simply touched the lapel of his duster jacket, before disappearing once again into the night.

"No!" Buffy yelled as a flame sprang up beside his face.

She ran to him, and helped him to shed the duster and both of his shirts to the ground. Luckily, Spike's skin had not been touched by the flames. The whole gang watched in shock as the clothing burned to the ground. Even though the grass was dry, it did not catch fire.

Spike turned his gaze to the Watcher, who just shook his head. The plot thickens.

Xander watched his girlfriend eying the half-naked vampire, and clamped a hand over her eyes.

"Are you ok?" Buffy asked Spike, who gave her a small smile.

"I'm fine luv, I . . ." the wail of a siren interrupted him, and his smile turned into a frown.

"Giles, your house!" the group ran back to see fire fighters already spraying water onto the burning building, but to no avail. The flames would not be doused.

"Let's buy a huge house." Spike said.

He and Buffy were sitting out on her roof as all the others were inside her house, sleeping.

"What if arson-man just burns it down?" she asked, her eyes wet with tears.

Spike frowned as he looked at her. As usual she was blaming herself for things beyond her control.

"Then we'll buy another one! It's not like we haven't got the money."

Slowly, Buffy nodded her head. "How about we buy the mansion on Crawford St.? Legally this time." she added.

"Are you sure that's what you want, pet? You've had an awful lot of painful memories in that place. So have I."

She turned to him, a ghost of a smile played at her lips. "Then we'll make new memories. Good ones!"

He returned her smile as he said, "We'll have to add some really thick curtains. But it's a good idea, there will be plenty of room for everyone!"

"We will have to renovate the whole place, I mean it was ok for Angel to live there, but I'm a high maintenance girl, who doesn't like living with bugs and rats. Oh, Spike, can we have a swimming pool? I've always wanted a pool!" Buffy was getting very excited.

"Sure thing, luv, we can have two of them. One indoor, and one outdoor." he found himself getting excited as well.

Spike had been staying with Buffy and her mother for a while now, and he really wanted his own bed. He could have gone back to his crypt, but he was hesitant to leave the Slayer's side. Now, he wouldn't have to.

Four Weeks Later

Buffy sighed contentedly from her spot, next to Spike, on the brand new couch as she looked around her new living room. They had finally finished moving everything into the now renovated mansion. Giles, Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara, Spike, and Buffy herself, were now lounging in front of the television watching As Good as it Gets. It was the one movie that the whole gang agreed on, and actually liked.

They all knew that things would be tough, but they would make it work.

Spike didn't hold back his laughter at the movie. He really liked Jack Nicholson's character. If only Spike could get away with saying some of the things that he did! He saw Buffy smile out of the corner of his eye and propped his arm up behind her head.

She looked at Spike for a second, before snuggling up next to him, resting her head on his chest. She felt his fingers start running through the silky golden strands of her hair.

She looked around at all of her friends, now her roommates. They would all be one big happy family.

As soon as that thought had entered her mind, the movie finished, and the mood was broken.

Anya and Willow fought over the last piece of pizza, while Giles and Xander fought over the remote.

Buffy looked up at Spike, who just smiled and kissed her forehead.

Well, they were a big family, anyway!

End Part 4