Author's Notes: This part is a little bit different from the rest of the series. I hope it works! Also, this one is for Meredith for being such a sweetheart. Also a special thanks to Raven, Jessa, Pandora, Isabelle, Hilary, Sherri, Ryan, Sarah, Cazy, Juliet, Jessie and all of the other wonderful people who have brightened my day somehow or another. :)

DeadSexy127: Friday night sounds great.
DeadSexy127: Do you want me to pick you up?
OneOfAKind: I don't want you to have to go through 20 questions from
OneOfAKind: everyone in my house, so how about if we just meet somewhere?
DeadSexy127: Alright, sounds great. How 'bout the Bronze? They have some
DeadSexy127: great food there, you know.
OneOfAKind: yeah, I go there a lot I tried their blooming onion for the
OneOfAKind: first time a couple days ago. very yummy :)
DeadSexy127: The blooming onion, huh?
DeadSexy127: I think I'm in love!
DeadSexy127: lol That's my favorite
OneOfAKind: lmao
OneOfAKind: so, wanna meet at 9? at the bar?
DeadSexy127: That sounds good.
DeadSexy127: But I have to be going for now. Duty calls... :(
OneOfAKind: yeah, I should be going too.
OneOfAKind: so, I'll talk to ya later, and I can't wait til Friday!
DeadSexy127: I'm counting down the hours.
OneOfAKind: so, talk to you later and bye for now!
DeadSexy127: Okay. Bye Anne! :)

When Spike signed off, he was still in a state of pure happiness. He sat there and tried to think of something to do while he waited for Buffy, but he couldn't bare to sit still. Jumping to his feet, he knocked on her door and waited for her to let him in. When she opened the door, he noticed that her smile was almost as big as his, so he decided to make the most of it. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. When he pulled back, she was still standing there completely confused, and for the first time ever, she was speechless. Upon seeing her face, he let out a jolly laugh, and took off down the hall doing a one person tango.

He practically skipped through the kitchen as he put a cup of blood in the microwave for his dinner. Looking around, he decided to make Buffy's life a little easier and started pulling out random things to cook for her and Dawn. It had been many years since he had cooked anything, but he was in such a good mood that he had full confidence in himself, and in his cooking abilities.

The newly domestic vampire pulled out two pots and got started. *This is pretty easy. Nothin' to it. I should be a bloody chef!* Whistling a merry tune, he started setting the table as dinner finished cooking. A few minutes later, he yelled up the stairs, "Slayer, Nibblet! Dinner's ready!"

The second that the two girls realized that Spike had been using any type of kitchen appliances, they both ran down the stairs as fast as their legs could carry them. When they didn't see smoke or flames, they relaxed a bit, but were still a bit concerned over seeing Spike in an apron. Buffy's eyes lit up when she saw that the covered plates of food on the table, and she gave him a thankful grin. The two of them held eye contact for a moment, and their silence spoke a million words. Dawn looked back and forth between the oblivious pair, and smiled at how obvious it was that they had feelings for each other. She cleared her throat to catch their attention, and asked, "So, Spike. What are we having?"

A proud smile covered his face as he looked back and forth between the sisters. "Well, it's been a while since I last cooked, but I figured it all out with no problem. So, sit down, enjoy it, and savor the taste, because it's gonna be good."

Spike walked around the table and pulled out their chairs for them before he took off the lid to his creation. Once Buffy saw what he worked so hard for, her smile widened. "Spike, it looks delicious." Dawn stared at the plates for a moment, and then she mirrored Buffy's smile. "Looks great! Let's eat!"

Buffy could swear that Spike had tears of happiness in his eyes when he saw the smiles aimed at his cooking. He picked up the bowl of macaroni and cheese and scooped some into their dishes, followed two hot dogs for each of them. His choice of dinner was probably the most simple thing to make, but she wasn't about to burst his bubble. The thought content behind it made it better than a gourmet meal in her eyes, anyway.

After they finished eating, Buffy and Spike left to go patrol. In the few days that he had been staying with her, their relationship had changed, but neither was willing to admit it. As far as they were concerned, it was a lot easier to pretend to hate each other than to face their true feelings. That, and they both had upcoming dates.

From Spike's point of view, no matter how much he wished he could be with Buffy, it could never work. Anne had a lot more in common with him, so it just made sense that he should give her a chance instead of having a short relationship with the Slayer. Too bad he couldn't have both.

The vampire looked over at who should have been his enemy and said, "A penny for your thoughts." She turned to him and held out her hand, silently requesting the penny. Smiling at what a pain in his ass she was, he reached into his pocket and handed her a worn out penny. Their hands briefly brushed against each other as she took the penny from him and she took a deep breath.

Twiddling the coin between her fingers, she began to speak. "I was just thinking about how weird life is. You're born, you laugh, you cry, you smile, and then you die. And if you're lucky you find someone to share the laughter and tears with you. If you're not lucky, you either don't have anyone or you have too many people. Isn't it weird the way that works out?"

Spike gave her a thoughtful look. "I know exactly what you mean, luv. And if you're really lucky, you can have a sexy vampire sidekick who would do anything to make you miserable but would kill anyone who even touched you. Ain't life grand?"

Buffy smiled over at him and lightly punched him in the arm. "And if you're really lucky, I won't kick your sexy ass back to England. C'mon. Let's go now. There's no vamps out tonight. No threatening ones anyway."

He went to respond, but settled for sticking his tongue out at her as they walked back to her place. She gave him a devious grin and said, "Put your tongue back in you mouth unless you're gonna use it." His jaw almost dropped to the ground after hearing her words. "Well, Slayer. It looks like you do have some stones. I bet you wouldn't be saying that if we were back at your house with pint size all tucked away in her bed though."

Buffy stopped dead in her tracks and spun around to face Spike. "Is that a challenge or an invitation?" He took a step closer to her so there noses were almost touching. "I would never ask you for something you didn't want, pet. So take it whichever way you want." Staring deep into his eyes, Buffy's heartbeat grew quicker by the second. "And I would never take anything that you didn't want to give." His trembling hand reached up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well then, where does that leave us?"

Neither of them broke the intense gaze as they tried to decide what to do. Buffy's tongue darted out to lick her lip, and she made her decision. "Spike, I need you to know that- WATCH OUT!" He jumped back from the Slayer and whipped his head around just in time to avoid having it beat in with a railroad spike. When he saw his signature weapon being held by a younger look alike vampire, he wasn't sure whether he should laugh or beat him.

Spike jumped up and kicked the intruding vampire in the jaw, sending him to the ground. He angrily grabbed the offending weapon and yelled in the vampire's face, "Who the bloody hell are you?!" The younger one laughed and shifted into vamp mode. "I am Spike, William the Bloody, and a vampire! You will cower in fear at my dominance in species, you insolent fool!"

The real Spike looked at him in confusion and turned to the Slayer for help. Buffy started to laugh. "You've got groupies!" He rolled his eyes and turned back to his impersonator. "Bloody pillock! I'm Spike! And you were holding that thing all wrong. Here, you do it like this." He held the spike up almost like a baseball bat and asked the impersonator if he understood. When he nodded his reply, Spike smiled and sent the weapon through his heart and walked back towards Buffy through the ashes.

When he reached her, she was looking back and forth between him and the ground. As amusing as it was to see a Spike impersonator, seeing the real Spike holding his signature weapon made Buffy once again remember his true nature. A large part of her told her that he was different from other vampires, but there was a lot that she had to think about. The look in her eyes told Spike everything he needed to know, but he understood completely. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and they made the rest of their walk home in a contemplative silence.

Once they walked through the door, they both made their way into their rooms without saying a word. The low hum of two computers booting up was the only sound in the house, but neither noticed. Their own thoughts were much louder than the light buzzing sound. Spike was the first one to have Internet access granted to him, so a moment later when he saw Anne sign on, he im'ed her.

DeadSexy127: Hi Anne :)
DeadSexy127: How are you?
OneOfAKind: It's been a long night. how are you doing?
DeadSexy127: I've been better.
OneOfAKind: It can't be that bad, right?
DeadSexy127: Well I'd rather have syphilis than go through a night like this again.
OneOfAKind: thanks for the imagery
OneOfAKind: I'm sorry that you're having a bad night. :(
DeadSexy127: Don't be. It's not your fault.
OneOfAKind: it still sucks though
DeadSexy127: Well, on the plus side, it's a few hours closer to Friday. :)
OneOfAKind: yup :-D
OneOfAKind: only four more days now.
DeadSexy127: yup, I can't wait :-D
OneOfAKind: same here
DeadSexy127: brb in one second
OneOfAKind: yup

Spike jumped a mile when he heard a knock on his door. He looked up at his clock and saw that it was a little after midnight. Hoping that it was Buffy at the door, Spike quickly stripped down to his boxers to hopefully sway the direction their conversation was going to go in. The knocking grew a bit louder, and he quickly minimized the IM screen so that nobody could find out Anne's screen name and harass her with the truth about him.

With a cocky grin, Spike opened the door, but it was only to find Dawn there staring at his heavenly body in admiration. "Oh, Nibblet. Sorry. Want me to throw a shirt on?" She shook her head and stepped into his room. "Spike, I just wanted to thank you for dinner. I'm really glad that you're staying with us right now. It's fun having you around, and Buffy's a lot happier with you here too. She may not show it, but I can see it."

She stepped further into the room and sat down in the chair by his computer. "So, I just wanted to let you know that. Great screen name, by the way. A little obvious if you live in Sunnydale, but cute. So, I'm glad you're here and I hope you stay for a long time. I have to go try to borrow a sweater from Buffy now to wear to school. So, goodnight!"

Leaving Spike mystified, Dawn walked out of the room. He shook his head in confusion and sat back down at his computer. *Well that was odd. And my name isn't that obvious! I kinda like it.*

DeadSexy127: Sorry, Anne! I'm back now.
OneOfAKind: it's alright. :)
OneOfAKind: so, what are you doing?
DeadSexy127: Oh, nothing exciting. How about you?
OneOfAKind: Just looking forward to Friday. :)
OneOfAKind: but I do have to be going soon. So, will you be on tomorrow?
DeadSexy127: Yup! Of course :)
OneOfAKind: Alright, Will. so I'll talk to you then, k?
DeadSexy127: okay.
OneOfAKind: Goodnight! Don't miss me too much.
DeadSexy127: I can't promise that. lol
DeadSexy127: A thousand times goodnight, Anne.

With a dreamy look on his face once again, Spike signed off and crawled into his bed. He could hear the nibblet in Buffy's room with her, but he couldn't make out what they were saying through the sound of Buffy's stereo. *I can't believe she's listening to Savage Garden. Truly, Madly, Deeply. What the bloody hell is that all about?* With a shrug, he rolled on his side and let his thoughts overcome him. It would still be quite a while before he would sleep, but at least he could be sure everyone was safe if he stayed up.

Though he couldn't hear it, in the next room, Dawn was prodding her sister for information on Spike. To her disappointment, Buffy denied everything. With a pout, Dawn sat on her bed and watched her fiddle with her computer preferences before she shut down. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head when she saw who Buffy had been planning to meet. She opened her mouth to warn her, and then thought better of it. Buffy was a big girl and she could take care of herself. No need for her to interfere!

The Slayer gave her younger sister a stern look and pointed to the door. Dawn gave her a cheerful grin as she walked out with the borrowed sweater. When Buffy sat on her bed, she reached underneath and pulled out a box of things that meant more to her than anything. She smiled as she looked at the items and thought of how far she had come. Then she turned off her stereo, and there was nothing but silence.

In the next room, Spike lay quietly and listened to Buffy rummage through her box. Though he couldn't see her, now that there was no sound in the house at all, he could hear every movement. The last thing he heard was the sound of a penny being flipped and a box being pushed back under the bed. A smile spread over his face, and he softly finished singing the song that she had shut off. "Oh can't you see it baby? You don't have to close your eyes' cos it's standing right before you. All that you need will surely come." He heard a soft thump on the other side of the wall and his smile grew. He returned the thump, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a soft knock on his door a moment later. That time it was definitely Buffy.



Next in the series - Say My Name



Back to Fanfiction