Yellow Skies

By:Isis

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, or anything related to, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Joss Whedon and ME do.

Summary: Takes place after As You Were. Spike leaves town so that Buffy can sort out her feeling. Thing is, you know Spike; he can't stay away from Buffy long. He comes back to town, only to find out that she and Dawn are missing. This all leads up to S/B getting back together- Spuffy will take place, I promise.

This is a S/B centered story, but other characters are also involved.

Rated: PG-13

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. During this last week I have been moving, without internet for a couple of days and sick on top of that. Ok, who cares about excuses, right? This chapter is shorter than usual, and I'm sorry about that, but right now it's better than nothing I suppose. Just trying to get back into the swing of things.

*Thank you Madrog. Once again I wonder what I would do without you. Thanks for sticking by me and making me feel I'm worth all the trouble:)

Reviews: Thanks to all the people that took their time to review. You make it all worthwhile.:)

Email: isis_fanfic@hotmail.com

Distribution: Yes, but only if you ask first, and let me know where it's going.

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Chapter 7

Evolution

It didn't take long for Spike to get Buffy back home. Just having her so close and safe restored his strength to full capacity. Although he was swift, he couldn't help but falter once in a while to take a quick peek at the stars above. For whatever reason, he knew the mystery as to why he should have the good fortune to be back in Buffy's life, was written up there somewhere.

Buffy said nothing, and Spike assumed she had fallen asleep. Her left arm dangled by her side, and he could hear that her heartbeat had slowed down. Gathering her up closer to himself, he climbed the front porch stairs, and then entered only to be greeted by an unusually hyper Tara. "Buffy...is she ok?" Spike didn't hesitate as he carried Buffy up the stairs toward her room. Tara was at his heels. "Xander just called. I guess Dawn is fine and he and Willow are bringing her home in a few minutes. I told Willow to go to the hospital after Xander called from there." Spike was now fussing with Buffy's clothes, trying to make her more comfortable, but she was still asleep, so it wasn't easy. Tara went to one of Buffy's drawers and pulled out some pajamas. "Why don't you let me do that? You've done enough, and I'm sure you're wanting to get back to your place."

Spike looked at her like she was crazy. "No place I'd rather be then here. She needs looking after."

"Well, Willow and I are here..."

Spike didn't have time for a debate. "Look, she's mighty sick, and I can't just leave her...I'm thinking things may get worse before they get better."

Tara looked around, uncertain. "Oh...um, O..Ok." She walked over to Buffy's bed and sat down. "Buffy needs to be cleaned up, especially around the puncture wound on her neck, it's pretty nasty. How about you use the guest bathroom to take your shower, and I can help Buffy in the one up here. I think I can wake her up enough to get her in there."

Spike put down one of the photos he had taken off of Buffy's bureau to study, and looked at Tara, "Are you saying I need one?" He was mostly kidding, and just wanted to get her going.

Tara tried backpedaling. "Oh. Oh no, I just mean that you are...ummmm...if you are going to be sleeping here you should try not to get any of that dirt on the linens."

Spike looked down at himself. Ok, so he was a mess, and he hadn't been able to shower for a while. He figured he probably didn't smell that great, either. His clothes were damp, and dirt was caked in sporadic places. A devilish chuckle escaped his mouth before adding, "No worries pet, I don't favor sleeping with any of my clothes on." At first he thought maybe imploring such a vision in her mind may have scared her, but the blush and shy look she had about her told him otherwise. 'Huh, so sexy I can even make a gay witch take a glance in the other direction,' Spike thought as he sauntered toward the door.

Tara didn't let him get away so easy. "Maybe, you could throw your clothes in the laundry." Spike smiled to himself as he went downstairs.

****

After Spike took his rather quick-but-thorough shower, he fussed some more over Buffy, who was now more awake, but also more sick. She insisted she only needed some rest, so after pulling the blankets up around her, Spike accommodated her request.

Soon thereafter, Xander showed up with Dawn and Willow, both who rushed upstairs to see Buffy as soon as Spike told of her whereabouts. His disapproving grumbles were ignored and overshadowed by the girls' high-pitched chatter as they met up with Tara at the top.

Xander nodded his head in Spike's direction. "How is she?...And please tell me those aren't my pants." Xander held his hand up, "Forget I asked."

Spike rolled his eyes and tried tightening his belt around the loose folds of material. "Tired and very sick, but she says all she needs is sleep. I'm not quite so sure. Thinking she really needs to go to the hospital, and if she doesn't start making progress in the next few hours, that's exactly where I'm taking her. Girl has a mind to be stubborn, as you know." Spike headed toward the kitchen, talking over his shoulder. "How is Dawn?"

Xander followed him in, grabbing a bag of chips once he reached the counter. "She's fine. They cleaned up her neck and gave her some fluid through intravenous. Mostly just shook up over the whole ordeal, and worried over Buffy." He threw a couple of chips into his mouth, then proceeded to talk through the tasty distraction. "So, do tell, where was Buffy?"

Spike leaned back, using his elbows on the countertop behind him as leverage. "With Warren, as Dawn said." Uncrossing his feet, he stood up a little taller. "I'm going to go check on them. She really should be sleeping."

Xander grabbed Spike's arm on his way by. "Did he hurt her?"

Spike looked at Xander. "I'll take care of it. If I see him again, he's going to pay, don't worry."

"Thanks," he said as he rolled the empty chip bag up and threw it in the trash. "Don't take that the wrong way, I still don't like you, but you came through this time. Buffy and Dawn are back, and hey, I'll just assume you will still be a future pain in my ass, so all is well.

Although Xander was seriously pissed now, and would have liked nothing better than to rip out Warren's throat, he knew Spike would get the job done, if need be. So he figured he'd leave it at that. "You can tell me about what happened with Warren later. I know you are probably tired, therefore I know better than to push you."

"Since when?" Spike asked sarcastically. And since when did Xander show a grain of compassion toward him, he wondered.

"Since I'm way tired myself, and just happen to have a girlfriend who will be home in about five hours. I'm sure she will expect me to have my stamina back up to ship-shape form by then." Xander headed for the front door after salvaging his keys from the cluttered coffee table. "Tell Buffy I wanted her to rest, so I'll wait till later today to visit with her. Just make sure you call me if anything comes up." Xander hesitated in the doorway, a look of contemplation on his face, but then a wry smile slipped in. "Take good care of them."

Spike stood motionless as the door closed behind Xander, and reality set in that he had just been entrusted with the Summer's household.

****

The morning light came fast, pretty much just as Spike had settled down for some shut-eye. The shy bird had come through on her earlier suggestion of him spending time there, but more so than he had expected. Willow seemed a little hesitant with the idea, but Tara had persuaded her into helping move the spare mattress into Buffy's room. After Willow had said good night, and took off for their room, Tara yanked the mattress up next to Buffy's bed, a sly half smile breaking through as she talked. "You should be close, just incase."

Spike put his hands in his pockets. "Just incase."

Tara threw a pile of sheets and blankets on the makeshift bed, then pointed to a small table. "Thermometer is there, along with the stuff you'll need to keep her wound clean. It's weeping puss, so I'm pretty worried about it. And her fever isn't coming down." They both looked over at Buffy, and then back at each other. "I just figured you'd want to do this stuff, but if you need help, just knock."

"I've got it, pet."

After Tara left, Spike sat on the edge of Buffy's bed. Little light filtered through the closed curtains, which had also been covered by some dark colored sheets, but it was enough to be able to study her sleeping form. A few strands of hair had found their way across her face, so he brushed them back with the back of his fingers, before running his thumb along her cheek. She squirmed a bit, and mumbled something incoherent as he moved back down onto his bed. He laid on top of the blankets, wanting as little as possible between himself and Buffy. "Goodnight, luv," he said out loud.

"Night," came Buffy's groggy voice.

Spike fell asleep with a certain thought entertaining his mind and heart; Buffy knew he was sleeping in her room, and she didn't mind. He didn't let the fact that she was sick, still mostly asleep, and may not even fully realize he was her roommate overpower his whimsical idea that she wanted him there. The vampire's body lay still as death, except for the smug smile that still lingered.

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