Chapter Two

Acquisitions

Buffy at on Tara’s sofa, wearing a nightgown borrowed in place of the clothes she had soaked after being in the rain, not even the aromatic smell of hot chocolate was able to lift her spirits. Despite the fact that she was now relatively dry and the heat of the beverage was warming her hands as she held the mug, Buffy still felt numb with cold. She knew the frozen sensation had nothing to do with the hellish weather outside or the fact that she had been soaked to the bone. It was not a physical reaction but rather an emotional one. If anything it was the most emotion she had displayed since returning to the mortal plane. A part of her mind still remained in stunted disbelief because if she forced herself to accept the truth, her mind would simply shut down from the anguish. It was the only way she knew of coping with what had happened.

"Are you sure he’s gone?" Tara asked sympathetically from where she was sitting on the other end of the sofa.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded slowly. "He took his clothes, his books and his TV." Buffy looked up and saw the question in Tara’s eyes at the mention of the last article. "Spike with no Passions is not a happy Spike," she explained quickly.

"Oh." Tara said quietly, unable to imagine the rebellious vampire sitting in front of a television set slave to a third rate soap opera.

"Believe it or not, he used to watch it with my mom." Buffy replied, seeing her attempting to visualize the scene. "My mom liked him a lot. I could never understand why."

Buffy thought about her mother and Spike on a sofa not too dissimilar than this one, watching Passions with Spike giving Joyce a running commentary for the plot twists she had missed. Not to mention the number of times Buffy had walked through the front door and saw them both sharing tea in the kitchen. She wished more than anything that her mother was still alive because Joyce would make everything all right. Even after Joyce had learnt Buffy was the slayer, she never saw Buffy as anything but her daughter and no matter how bad things got, Joyce was always there to give her the support she needed. Sometimes that love was all that kept her from staying in bed and never coming out again. She was beginning to understand that Spike’s affection had in some small way taken the place of that love. No matter what she did to him and lately, that had included physical, verbal and emotional abuse; he stood by her no matter how much she hurt him.

"Spike can be nice," Tara volunteered from what experience she had with the vampire.

Spike was not overtly sentimental but he did respond to kindness, something that the Scoobies had not shown him in great quantities. Tara understood that part of this had to do with the fact that he had once been a Master Vampire with desires of killing them all. Still, even after he had been tortured by Glory and fought alongside them all summer, he was still not counted as one of them. Perhaps he never would be but Tara noted the dislike of the others and it seemed unfair since Buffy relied upon him so much to protect them in her absence which he did with unfailing ability when they had lost Buffy. It was obvious that he used the sarcasm to mask the fact that he was an outcast among vampires, trapped in a situation where death might possibly be the only way out.

"He can be," Buffy agreed. "He’s nice around Dawn."

"He protected her all summer Buffy," Tara reminded. "He made sure nothing hurt her."

Buffy had not forgotten that but she did not like to think of it too often. Lately, she had been taking up all his time so that he had not even had the chance to spend much time with Dawn and her sister was suffering from this lack of contact, not just from him but also from all of them. Buffy had not even known about Dawn’s loneliness until her recent birthday party. It felt like everyone important in her life was suffering from her neglect but at least she had fixed things with Dawn by spending more time with her sister. However, the damage done with Spike was not easily repaired.

"Buffy maybe this is for the best," Tara offered gingerly.

Buffy shot a hard stare in her direction. "How can this be the best for me?"

"I meant for Spike," the Wiccan replied.

Buffy fell silent again and could not speak because she had no idea how to answer that.

"Buffy," Tara sucked in her breath aware that this was probably not what Buffy wanted to hear but someone had to say it and since the Slayer had chosen her as a confidant, Tara felt she owed it to Buffy to be honest with her. "Spike falls in love hard but when he does its complete, isn’t it?"

Buffy considered a moment his relationship with Drusilla, which had lasted almost the entirety of his undead life. He had stayed by Drusilla’s side even when she was weak. He had nursed her through the bad times and the good times, however vampires measure that. His loyalty and devotion were unquestioning. Indeed his way of proving how much he loved Buffy was to show that he was prepared to stake Drusilla, his black princess of almost a century. At the time the whole thing had repulsed Buffy but now she understood it was his way of expressing his undying devotion.

"I guess so," she muttered uncomfortably.

"Buffy you have to let him go if you don’t love him." Tara declared.

"I need him," she answered too quickly.

"That’s not enough for Spike," Tara retorted. "Buffy, I don’t understand how he can love the way he does but the fact is he can and he loves you. You didn’t see him when you died. He was crushed and despite all that he looked after Dawn and protected her because he loved you. If you don’t love him, let him go. You know using him like this is wrong. You’re giving him hope and taking it away from him again."

Buffy sucked in her breath because Tara’s words had the effect of a physical blow. "I don’t want to need him!" Buffy cried out, unable to meet Tara’s gaze as she spoke, her lips quivering as the words escaped her. "He’s a dead thing! He doesn’t even have a soul! How can he be capable of feeling anything?"

"I don’t know," Tara said with a slightly authoritarian voice because she knew Buffy used that argument too much to justify the things she did to Spike and it was as wrong. "I know that he does. Buffy, you know this is hurting him, you said so."

"I know," she replied softly, meeting Tara’s eyes. "After we were together, he was so sad. I could see it in his eyes. I should have stayed or said something to him but I didn’t. I never want to stay because if I do, we could talk and then talking leads to…"

"Getting to know him?" Tara ventured a guess. "Getting to see him as something more than just someone you have sex with?"

Buffy nodded her head guiltily, "I guess so."

"Buffy do you love him?" Tara asked for the second time.

"I don’t know," Buffy answered giving her the same response. "Before we started sleeping together, I I think I could have. I’d go to him when I was feeling down and he would listen to me and everything he said to me was not about me being the Slayer, it was me being just Buffy, the girl he loved. It felt like he was the only one who saw the real me and couldn’t less about the Slayer. I could talk to him about anything and he helped just by listening. When we were like that, I felt for him but I don’t know if that’s love. All I know is that I need to be with him to feel something these days. Now that he’s gone, I feel so empty inside."

It certainly sounded to Tara as if the slayer was in love with Spike despite all the feelings of denial Buffy harbored about their relationship. Of course, Tara was only surmising this by what Buffy was telling her and only Buffy knew for certain what was in her heart and at this moment, she appeared too confused to make that determination clearly.

"Maybe he just needed some time away," Tara offered, knowing inwardly that if Spike had gone this time, the chances were good that he was not coming back.

"No," Buffy discounted the possibility almost immediately. "I wish that was the truth but it isn’t, I finally drove him away too and you know what the kicker is?" She looked at Tara and uttered a bitter laugh. "This time I deserved him leaving me. I really did treat him like my dirty little secret. I mean he was good enough to sleep with but not enough to tell my friends about? I want to find him and tell him that it wasn’t just sex to me, that I did enjoy being with him but now he’s gone and I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to do that."

"You don’t know that for sure," Tara replied trying to be comforting but she knew that Buffy was probably right. Wherever Spike had gone, Tara had no doubt that it was beyond Buffy’s reach. That meant if he were not already heading out of Sunnydale, he soon would be.

"Yes I do," Buffy whispered, her eyes glistening with tears and she remembered the emptiness of the crypt when she had hurried back to find him. It felt as if something precious had been lost, something that could have been very good if only she had allowed it the chance to be. Now it was too late. "Even if he did come back I don’t know if I could say anything to him that would make him stay."

Tara wished she had the words to absolve Buffy of her perceived sins but she did not. Besides, forgiveness was not what Buffy needed. She needed understanding more than any anything else, that and a friendly ear. She was too terrified of going to Willow and Xander, Willow because her former lover had troubles enough of her own with her addiction to magic and Xander would not understand, no matter how much Buffy tried to explain it. Xander’s natural aversion to vampires, particularly of the male variety with interests in Buffy was well known to all. He would almost certainly offer a vehement response to the knowledge of their relationship and Buffy did not need that right now.

"Buffy," Tara spoke after a moment. "Maybe you should take a step back and see if he comes back."

Buffy’s expression showed her skepticism before she answered, "I think we both know that’s not going to happen."

Unfortunately, Tara could not disagree with Buffy on that statement because she knew the Slayer was right. If Spike had mustered enough determination to finally leave Buffy after everything they had been through these past two years, then it was highly unlikely that he would return to suffer the same indignity again. As much as she cared for Buffy, Tara could not help thinking that in the long run this was the best course for the vampire. He could not indefinitely remain at Buffy’s side, always uncertain of what his place in her life really was. Even Buffy could not make that determination herself and it was unfair for Spike to be left in a limbo where there was no real hope he would ever win her heart.

"No, I guess not." Tara admitted after a long pause.

Buffy supposed that even Tara knew a lost cause when she saw it and had to concede that her relationship with Spike was always going to end this way, no matter how much she might think she was above using him as heartlessly as she had. In truth, she had used him and she had even admitted it to Tara but since then, she had done little to keep away from Spike and he had taken extreme abuse at her hands. He tried not to think about how badly she had beaten him up a few weeks ago. Even with a vampire’s metabolism, it had taken him a while to recover and yet he still accepted her into his arms whenever she needed him. She wondered which of them was without the soul because lately she could not tell.

"Maybe its better this way," Buffy replied softly. "Maybe, its best that he finds someone else who can make him happy."

"Yeah," Tara nodded in sympathetic agreement.

However even as the words left her, Buffy could not help but feel this deep well of anguish inside of her who did not think it would be as simple as all that and that when it mattered the most, she had failed Spike.

Again.

**********

Buffy returned home in the small hours of the night once the rain had stopped its relentless bombardment of Sunnydale. She slipped into her bed and fell immediately into a restless sleep where she spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, dreaming dreams that reeked of loneliness and longing for thing she knew would not come to pass even more so than usual. She dreamed of Angel and wondered why all her loves could not be as pure as that all-important first love. In those days, there had been no doubt about what she felt for Angel, no matter what he might have done in the past. She loved him unashamedly, content that it was good and pure. There was none of the complications that came with the later relationships. With Riley, it had all been about dating a ‘normal’ guy and not about him, not until it was too late.

With Spike it was all about her and once again, it was too late.

She woke up feeling as if the world had drained of its color, her bones weary with an ache that was not merely the result of the uneven night of slumber she had experienced. It was this deep pit inside of her, widening as she stepped out of her room and went to face the world outside, drawing to it all her strength to go on. She paused by Dawn’s room to check on her sister and noted that her bed was empty. Glancing at the hallway clock, something she had failed to do when she had awoken from her restless sleep, Buffy noticed that it was way past breakfast. No doubt Dawn was already on her way to school. Hopefully, Willow had seen her off with a decent breakfast. She wondered why neither of them chose to wake her up but then with the hours she was doing lately with her job and being the Slayer, they probably decided that she needed the sleep.

She padded downstairs and realized that she was alone in the house since Willow had probably taken herself off to classes once seeing Dawn off to school. Sucking in her breath, she made herself a small breakfast of cereal and contemplated her day. She had to be at the Double Meat in about an hour after which the rest of her day would involve slaying and then coming home to spend some quality time with Dawn. After all she would have more time for that now that Spike was gone and she did not have to see him. She tried to tell herself that this was a good thing and yet that traitorous vortex of pain that had not diminished since she awoke reminded her of its presence with a sharp sliver of sadness coursing through her.

She went to work with the same ache, serving customers and going through the motions all the while casting glimpses past the counter to the clear windows that needed cleaning every ten minutes to cope with the grubby fingers of children, waiting for the sun to go down, so that he might appear. Inwardly, she knew he would not. The look in his eyes when they were last together told her that what she had done then was permanent. When she had crossed the threshold between his crypt and the outside world, she had thrown away her last chance with him. Buffy knew all this and yet she hoped with more desire than she ought that he might still appear. It was foolishness and she knew it but the part of her that enjoyed their lovemaking so much, that liked the expression of wonder in his eyes whenever she appeared at his crypt, could not help it.

By the time her shift for the day had ended, the sun had well and truly set and there had been no sign of Spike, confirming her worst fears that he was indeed gone. She left work in something of a stupor, watching for shadows not because she was the slayer and she was meant to protect Sunnydale from vampires but because she missed the one vampire who had come to mean more to her than she had possibly believed. Buffy headed towards the Magic Shop intending to pick up Dawn before heading home. Since her birthday party where it came to light just how neglectful Dawn had felt, not to mention her shop lifting habits, Anya had come up with the solution that by working off her punishment at the store, they could also spend some time with her. Buffy had not disagreed since Dawn should be held responsible for what she had done but also the others could be there for her sister when she was not.

Buffy walked into the Magic Shop and saw that most of her friends were already there. Anya was behind the counter apparently showing Dawn the highlight of the day; being the counting of the day’s taking. It was appalling how well she had adapted to the American way. Dawn was listening intently and Buffy was surprised to see that she was actually enjoying the lesson or closer to the point the attention she was receiving. Anya’s logic in this whole situation had been too shower Dawn with so much attention she would not even conceive of shoplifting. Buffy had to give credit for originality at least.

Xander and Willow were hitting the books; no doubt attempting to uncover the whereabouts of the trio of ‘supervillains’ that Buffy had aptly named the Nerds of Doom. Lately the trio’s annoying antics had taken a decidedly deadly slant and now it was becoming necessary to find them and quickly before they escalated their attacks against her. While Buffy could not prove that they had killed Katrina, a young woman who used to date Warren, a member of the group, Buffy was certain that they did. Why else would they attempt to make her think that she had been responsible for the death? If it had not been for a conversation she had overheard at the police station, Buffy would have confessed to the crime by now. Now that they had a taste for killing, there was nothing to say they would stop with just that one death and the need to find them was now an imperative she could no longer afford to take anything but seriously.

"Hey Buffy," Willow noticed her first and greeted as she crossed the floor with the others soon joining in.

"You look beat Buff," Xander noted as she slumped into the chair rather resignedly. Genuine concerned filled his face at how exhausted she looked and once again, Xander wished he were in the position to help her. It was not right that Buffy should be saddled with financial responsibilities as well as saving the world on a regular basis and expected to raise a young sister as well. "Maybe you should forget the slaying for tonight. Willow mentioned you said it was quiet."

"I should patrol," Buffy sighed even though she would dearly love to get an early night once in awhile.

"Get Dead Boy to do it," Xander offered automatically, ‘dead boy’ being his term of endearment for Spike. It had also been the same for Angel.

The mention of Spike’s name made Buffy stiffen involuntary and it was a shift in her manner that Buffy was certain everyone caught.

"I can’t," she said quietly, deciding they had to know sometime. "Spike’s gone."

"Gone?" Dawn’s outburst was the loudest. Other than Buffy, she was closest to the peroxide haired vampire.

"He left." Buffy replied, unable to meet her gaze.

"You don’t mean dead do you?" Anya asked tactlessly as always.

"No," she quickly answered, not wishing for Dawn to think that even for a moment although she did not know how much better her sister was going to take the fact that Spike had suddenly just up and left Sunnydale. "He left town. I went by his crypt on my way home and I saw it was empty. He’s packed up his stuff and gone, even took the TV."

"Uh oh." Willow muttered. "That’s not good. He doesn’t miss his TV for anything."

"Well we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later," Xander sighed, wondering whether he would sad to see the back of Spike or not. In truth it felt good not being the only guy in the Scoobies, what with Giles gone. Spike had made Xander feel like he was not apart of some supernatural sewing circle. Now he too was gone and Xander felt a little sadness at his departure. "He couldn’t stay around forever hoping that Buffy would give him the time of the day."

"But he promised…." Dawn whispered softly, her eyes glistening with tears as she spoke. "He said he’d always protect me."

Buffy swallowed away the lump in her throat, feeling perfect empathy with Dawn over the departure of the vampire except unlike Dawn she was not allowed to show her sorrow. However, no sooner than the thought crossed her mind, Buffy reminded herself that if she was not allowed to show how she felt it was entirely her own fault. She was the one who kept her intimate relationship with Spike a secret. Perhaps it would have been easier to decide how she felt about him if she had not had to worry so much about what others would think. Unfortunately, these were perspectives that had come too late.

"Dawn," Buffy rose to her feet and started towards her sister. "Spike probably thought it was time to go. I mean he’s a vampire, they don’t get attached to people or places for too long."

"That’s not true!" Dawn shouted vehemently, her anguish manifesting itself into tears with the others in the room looking onwards helplessly because they did not have the relationship that she did with the vampire. "Spike cared about me and he cared about you! If you weren’t always so mean to him, he might have stayed!" She glared at Buffy in accusation.

"Dawnie that’s not true," Willow came quickly to her best friend’s defense. "Buffy could have staked Spike long ago. After trying to kill us, she had every right too."

"That’s not how he is anymore!" She cried out, wishing the so called adults in the room who thought they knew everything could see the vampire like she did. "You didn’t see what he was like when you were gone Buffy," she stared at her sister. "He wasn’t just protecting me! He was my friend! He was my only real friend!"

"We’re your friends Dawn," Anya stuttered, not understanding how the young woman could think otherwise.

"No," she shook her head, wiping away her tears as she pulled away from the counter. "You’re all Buffy’s friends. Spike was mine." She said softly and then broke into a run past them.

"Dawn!" Buffy called out but her sister was not listening. In a little more than a second, Dawn had reached the front door to the magic shop and slammed it close behind her.

For a few seconds after she had left, no one could say a word. Buffy resisted the urge to pursue her sister, perfectly aware that at times like this is was best that she wait until Dawn had calmed down a little before attempting to approach her. Her sister could be extremely volatile when she was emotional like this and truth be known, Buffy was too drained at this moment to go after her. The others were just as speechless as she was, uncertain of how to react to despair at Spike’s leaving. For two years, the vampire had been something of an unknown in their existence. He was apart of their group and yet not quite one of them. There were moments when they saw him as the murderer who was known as William the Bloody and then there were others times when he put his life in jeopardy for them, becoming an outcast amongst his own kind for this misguided love he felt for Buffy.

"Should someone go after her?" Willow finally broke the silence after a moment.

"No," Buffy shook her head, having already considered that long before Willow asked the question. "Let her cool off first."

"Buffy, its kind of dark out there," Xander reminded her.

Buffy stared out the window of the magic shop and wondered what she had been thinking, letting Dawn venture out alone like that. No matter how badly Dawn may feel about Spike leaving, this was still Sunnydale and the night was nothing to be taken lightly. She started walking across the floor with every intention of finding her sister and bringing her back no matter how mad Dawn was at her when suddenly, Xander spoke up.

"Buffy, let me go. I think you’re right, she needs to cool off but she’d probably do it a lot better around me then you right this minute."

Buffy wanted to protest but she knew he was right. Xander had a way of disarming fiery situations. In fact in the last year or so, he had become very good at it. Perhaps he more than any of them had grown up in the past few years and if there was anyone she trusted with her sister it was Xander. No matter how much their lives had changed in the last six years, some things remained constant. Like the northern star, she thought with a little smile. When they had been battling Adam – the Initiative designed monster, they had learnt they were more than just childhood friends, they were a fellowship that made the Slayer stronger than she had ever possibly been in countless lifetimes. Lately however, it seemed like Xander was closer to unraveling the mysteries of growing up better than any of them and perhaps he could reach Dawn since everything Buffy did these days seemed to upset her.

"Thanks Xander," she offered him a little smile.

Xander crooked a corner of his lips into a rakish smile of his own, the kind that seemed a little embarrassed at being caught out as the responsible one of their group. He could tell that Buffy was hurting as much as Dawn because of her sister’s accusation and tried to say something that dispel that hurt.

"Don’t worry Buff, I’m sure she didn’t mean anything she said," Xander offered confidently before going out the front door.

Buffy wished she could believe him but she knew better because Dawn was right. She had made Spike go away, just not in the manner in which any of them knew. 

************ 

Dawn found herself walking down the boulevard, leaving the Magic Shop further behind her. She knew it was probably not wise being out here alone and she was rather surprised that Buffy had not come after her but Dawn did not care. It felt as if every time one thing in her life found itself on solid foundations, another would crumble away and leave her. The last few days had been great. Working in the Magic Shop had never been as exciting as this, especially with Anya determined to rid her off her shoplifting activities by spending time with her. All of the Scoobies, even Buffy, had tried to spend time with her and for once they did not make her feel as if it was a chore but rather that they really wanted to be around her. The only person she had missed was Spike. She had been thinking about going to see him, to hang out like they used to when Buffy had been gone during the summer but now she supposed that was never going to happen because he was gone for good.

In her heart, she knew that Xander was right. It was only a matter of time before the vampire decided to quit town. After all, what did he have here? The others didn’t really like him and no matter what he did for them, Buffy was still mean to him. It infuriated Dawn that they seemed to have forgotten that during the summer when Buffy had not been around, it was mostly he that had kept the demon population in Sunnydale from reaching epic proportions. He had patrolled with the Scoobies and still managed to find time to hang out with her so she would not feel so completely alone. She wiped fresh tears remembering the movies they watched and the popcorn he made while they talked on the couch. She had even fallen asleep on the sofa a couple of times only to find herself in her bed the next morning, with the covers drawn over her.

She had not lied when she called him her only friend.

Suddenly, she looked up and realized that there was no one else save her on the street. A low mist had started to run down the main road, swirling around parking meters and the few cars that lined the pavement. Dawn shuddered because the night felt cold and in California, that was not normal. She swallowed visibly and turned on her heels, deciding the time for her little snit was done and she ought to head back to the Magic Shop. Overhead, the moon was high in the night and its glow bounced off the mist swirling around her legs rather eerily. She swiped her hand in it and saw it curl through the slice of her fingers. It felt cool to the touch and reminded Dawn of those old gothic films where the mist would obscure everything on some lonely street, just before some helpless woman fell prey to whatever waited in its shadows.

Dawn started walking faster.

She looked behind her and saw no one but then it was not really easy to see anybody when the mist had obscured anything more than a few metres away. Her fear became palpable and she broke into a run. Dawn kept throwing her gaze behind her, trying to see if anyone was following and could not understand why she was not nearer to the Magic Shop. She knew she had been more than covered the distance back to the store when suddenly a body standing right in front of her halted her progress. Dawn let out a soft cry as she fell backwards onto her bottom, catching sight of not one pair of feet before her but at least four. She scrambled to her feet as she stared at the group of people before her and let out an exclamation of happiness when she recognised at least one of them.

"SPIKE!" Dawn cried out and jumped to her feet. Without thinking, she threw her arm around him and embraced the vampire hard.

"Hello there Lil’ Bit," Spike smiled coldly as he pulled her arms from around his neck.

"Buffy said you were gone!" She said happily, thrilled that he was still in town.

"Well like so many things, she got that wrong too." Spike retorted sarcastically.

"Why she’s lovely William," the woman standing next to him remarked as she cast an approving eye at Dawn.

Dawn studied her for a moment and wondered who Spike’s new companion was. She certainly left Buffy for dead, Dawn thought to herself because the woman looked like a movie star and dressed that way as well. Dawn remembered how Cordelia used to dress when she had been called Queen C and realised that in comparison, this woman was leagues ahead of the former Sunnydale cheerleader. Her eyes stared at Dawn with such sharp intensity that Dawn immediately began to feel uncomfortable and took a step back for some reason.

"Spike?" Dawn asked nervously. "Who’s she?"

"Now is that anyway to behave in front of my lady friend, pet?" Spike asked and Dawn flinched at his gaze because there was something about it was all wrong though she could not put her finger on it. The two men standing behind them were the tallest men that Dawn had ever seen without them being demons and they were all dressed in black.

"Don’t blame the young lady William," the woman smiled at her pleasantly. "She’s just shy around new people am I right, little one?" She took a step forward and extended her gloved hand towards Dawn. "My name is Elizabeth and you are?"

Dawn swallowed nervously, certain that Elizabeth for all her glamour and great beauty was undoubtedly a vampire. "My name is Dawn. How do you know Spike?"

"We just ran into each other pet," Spike replied giving Elizabeth a look that was full of intimacy. "We’re together now."

"Together?" Dawn did not like the sound of that one bit.

"Yeah," he took Elizabeth’s hand in his and raised it to his lips. Pulling the glove down her wrist, he kissed the skin tenderly so that Dawn would not mistake the nature of their relationship. "Together."

"I thought you loved Buffy…" she started to stammer.

"Now I couldn’t wait for her forever could I, Dawn?" Spike gave her a reproachful stare. "I mean sooner or later she was going to toss me aside or stake me, which ever came first."

"She wouldn’t do that," Dawn defended her sister even though she could not say for certain that Buffy would not.

"Dawn!" A new voice broke through the night and Dawn was never more grateful to hear Xander’s approach.

"Ah," Elizabeth smiled, giving Spike a look of pure love. "More friends?"

"I wouldn’t say that." Spike retorted, about to enjoy the spectacle that would follow when the whelp finally reached them.

"Over here!" Spike called out into the darkness.

Xander appeared a short time later and stopped short at the sight of Spike. "Hey Spike," he greeted with some measure of surprise. "Buffy said you cleared your stuff out and left town."

"I found something to stay for," Spike glanced at Elizabeth.

Xander found himself staring at the vision of beauty next to him and found Spike’s reasons for remaining in Sunnydale rather compelling. He could not get enough of staring at her as she cast her eyes into his and took a one-way ticket straight to his heart and soul. He could smell the intoxicating aroma of roses and he was certain that the scent came from her skin. He wondered what it would be like to run one’s fingers against its creamy smoothness, to savor the perfection of her flesh against his own.

"I can see that," he muttered softly, feeling suddenly jealous that Spike should have claim on such a magnificent creature.

"Xander," Dawn tugged at his arm, suddenly gripped with this feeling of foreboding as Xander stared at Elizabeth transfixed. "Xander, we have to be going."

"Sure," Xander replied not really listening, his eyes were still fixed on Elizabeth and not at all eager to turn away.

"Xander?" Elizabeth whispered. "I like that, it slides of the tongue. Is it short for Alexander?"

"Yeah," Xander found himself chuckling nervously, the way he used to around Faith and Buffy when he had first met her. "Go figure."

"And are you like him, aren’t you?" She took a step closer to him, her scent filling up his lungs until he could not breathe without taking her deeper into himself. "You’re not a warrior but you conquer women with just as much ease. I can feel what draws them to you."

"Really?" Xander swallowed. "Cause I kind of washed out in high school. I went to the prom with an ex-vengeance demon and only because she asked me." He was rambling.

"Real smooth Xander," Spike rolled his eyes. "Are you sure about taking him? He’s human."

"We need humans," Elizabeth replied smoothly, not at all concerned by Spike’s objections. "Wouldn’t you like me to need you Xander?"

"Yes," Xander nodded and snapped whatever restraint Dawn had been holding back until now.

"Xander!" Dawn called out, trying to snap him out of his stupor but whatever this spell was that he was under, he did not appear to be coming out of it anytime soon.

"Go home little one," Elizabeth turned to her with full vampire visage. "Go home or I’ll take you with me for a little snack."

"Spike!" Dawn screamed in fright before she stared at Spike, unable to believe that he was allowing this to happen. "Do something!"

"I am doing something," Spike smiled as he lit a cigarette and watched Xander fall deeper into Elizabeth’s eyes. "Just like he said - I’m getting myself a girlfriend."

*************

 Even though to those around her, it appeared as if Anya was busily counting the day’s takings and then adding the appropriate figures into her computerized book keeping system, the 1000 year old vengeance demon’s attention was on anything but her profits for the day. Although she knew she was being foolish and Xander was probably having a deep and meaningful conversation with Dawn beyond the walls of the establishment, Anya could not help but wonder such a discussion could not take place in doors. After all, Xander as capable as he was, was no Slayer and there were things out there in the night that could harm him as well as Dawn.

She glanced at the doorway for what was the hundredth time, barely hearing the distant voices of Buffy and Willow as they discussed the pros and cons of Spike departure and what that would mean to her workload as slayer. Personally, Anya was of the belief that Spike was not all that bad. In fact, she could understand him to a degree. She too had fallen in love with a human and was willing to sacrifice all for that person. Fortunately, Xander had been a good deal more forgiving than Xander and Anya could not see why she found him so objectionable, after all he had proven himself time and time again. The Scoobies reaction to Spike made Anya sometimes wonder why she was treated so differently. In her first encounter with the Scoobies, she had altered the world where more than one of them was dead. What made her so different from Spike that she should be taken into the fold while he and outcast?

The question served only to distract her momentarily and as she glanced at the clock once more and then at the door which did not look as if it was going to open any time soon, Anya felt the same trepidation gnawing at her. Buffy and Willow seemed oblivious and she resisted the urge to substitute the word oblivious for self absorbed even though lately, they had both been exhibiting classic symptoms of the malaise. Neither seemed to care that the world outside them was imploding, Buffy with Dawn and probably Spike as well and Willow with Tara and the dangers of magic.

Finally, she could stand it no more and at the risk of saying the wrong thing again, she spoke up, "is anyone going to check up on…."

She never had the chance to complete the sentence because Dawn came bursting through the door, breathing hard with clear panic on her face. Her fear sent everyone into motion with Buffy and Willow leaving their seats and hurrying towards her while Anya did the same, rounding the corner of the counter to ask her why Xander was not with her.

"Buffy! Xander’s in trouble!" The young girl cried out answering Anya’s unspoken question.

"What do you mean Xander’s in trouble?" Anya asked before anyone else could

"There was this woman, I’m sure she was a vampire, she made him go all swoony…" Dawn stuttered as she tried to explain to the others how she had tried to pull Xander away from Elizabeth only to have him stand there hardly aware that she was even present, let alone capable of hearing a word she had said. "And Spike just stood there, he didn’t do anything!"

"Spike!" Buffy found her voice and it escaped in a strangled gasp. "What do you mean Spike?"

"Spike was there!" Dawn insisted. "He said that she was his new girlfriend! He just stood there and let her put Xander under some kind of a spell."

Buffy felt her worse nightmare unfolding as she heard Dawn’s frantic words and knew that for Dawn to think that Spike could be capable of allowing Xander to get hurt, the evidence must be quite damning. Buffy tried not to show that she was shaken to the core, that the fear that she had lived with since Spike had come to be mean more to her than just a lover, suddenly became a reality she had no wish to face again. It had been bad enough with Angel and something told her that if she had to kill Spike the way she had sent Angel to hell, she too, would be going into her own private inferno. However, baser instincts prevailed - this was not the time to dwell on her feelings because Xander needed her help.

"Where are they?" She asked shortly already making her way towards the door.

"They were just up the street," Dawn started to follow her when Buffy halted in mid step. "Dawn I need you to stay here."

"Buffy no…" Dawn started to protest but Buffy cut her off.

"Dawn I don’t have time to argue with you, stay here with Willow." Buffy ordered again in that voice that tolerated no argument, not even from her baby sister.

Dawn felt silent and Buffy cast a look at Willow to keep her sister safe before hurrying out the door.

*************

She had stepped into the night air when she realized that Anya was following her much to her shock.

"Anya!" Buffy exclaimed. "You need to get inside where it’s safe!"

"Not while Xander is out here!" Anya answered defiantly, falling into step with the purposeful slayer who was striding down the street to meet the enemy and save her friend.

"Anya," Buffy replied wearily. "I don’t know how many of them are there and if Spike’s with them, I may not be able to protect you!"

"I don’t care!" Anya snapped. "I’m not going back okay?"

Buffy swore under her breath but did not wish to waste valuable time trying to convince her otherwise, especially when Buffy did not think she could. Besides if it was her fiancé out there, Buffy did not think she would be able to wait it out either nor be ordered by someone else to do so. Continuing down the street, they both watched in anticipation of running into the vampire that Dawn had claimed she saw. There were traces of what appeared to be a light mist over everything but it seemed to be dissipating as they moved through it. As they hastened their pace, the expectation of finding Xander and those who might have taken him, began to give way for confusion. Dawn could not have left that long ago. It took time for vampires to do their grisly work and the thrall they could sometimes place their victims could not be prolonged long enough for the victim to go willingly with them. The only vampire that Buffy knew was capable of doing that was Dracula and the woman Dawn had described was certainly not him.

"Where is he?" Anya demanded clearly afraid when they reached the end of the street and there was no sign of either the vampires or her fiancé.

"I don’t know," Buffy muttered, her eyes scanning the surrounding areas while her senses sought out the enemy and found nothing. It was bewildering. Were they attempting to use Xander to get to her? That was certainly a possibility but it had been quiet in Sunnydale the past few days other than the Nerds of Doom. Kidnapping Dawn was one thing but allying themselves with companions who were clearly vampires was beyond them.

"Why would they take him?" Anya asked growing more afraid by the minute at what might have befallen her husband to be.

Buffy wished she had some answers for the terrified woman but she did not. As she swept her gaze across the street and felt the chill of its emptiness, she could feel a shift in the wind. There had been little in the way of the Big Bad all year round. Normally, some malevolent force would find its way to Sunnydale, using it as a launch point to rule the world, tear down dimensional barriers or even ascend to some demon plane of existence but this year, there had been there had been the notable absence of a such a threat. Not that Buffy minded but she had been poised waiting for it to arrive and something about this whole situation with Xander gave Buffy the impression that whatever the Big Bad she had been expecting to come, it was finally here.

She just hoped Xander would survive its arrival.

*************

There was a part of Spike that remained immune to the soft voice of Elizabeth, his new paramour. It was only a tiny fragment of self, neither human nor demon that lay buried inside of him where none could see, that rebelled against the warm comfort that she offered. If called upon to name what this mysterious entity that lived inside him was, Spike would find himself at a loss to explain its existence even though of late, he suspected that it was probably what made him so unique among vampires. After all, no other of his kind other than he was able to fall in love with a human and care for them more than any vampire should. Angel did not count because he was a vampire with a soul; an aberration even more unusual than Spike himself.

Spike watched Xander following Elizabeth like a puppy and felt a twinge of something the demon inside of him suppressed almost immediately. It was obvious that Elizabeth planned on turning him as she had so many since her emergence from her prison in Translyvania. The human had fallen completely under her spell and had hardly uttered a word of resistance when the lovely vampire suggested that he accompany them back to the lair. It was a wise decision because Dawn would surely have alerted Buffy to what was going on and it did not suit Elizabeth’s plans to face the Slayer just yet. Spike’s feelings about Buffy were surprising indifferent now. The connection between them felt very far away, non-existent almost and Spike could not say that he was sad to see its end. He had been her whipping boy long enough.

They had left the main street quickly, turning into an alley where Elizabeth’s car awaited them. The vehicle like the woman was elegant although Spike preferred his De Soto to the stolid perfection of the Rolls. However, whatever Elizabeth wanted was fine by him. As she neared the car, one of her minions immediately held the door open for her while the others slipped into the driver’s seat. Only, Spike and Xander were allowed to travel in the backseat with them, while the other two were relegated to the front. Xander did not offer any resistance as he sat across Elizabeth, watching her as if she were a vision of beauty that would disappear the instant he took his eyes away from her. What would Anya think? Spike thought snidely and then remembered that he liked Anya. She was a decent enough girl for a vengeance demon….

Stop it.

His demon growled inside his mind.

Wasn’t it enough that you were the Slayer’s bitch for the last two years, do you have to get soppy about the rest of them too?

Spike recoiled at the vehemence in that voice and he also remembered how miserable he had been since becoming neutered and almost all that despair rested solely at the feet of the so called Scoobies, Xander most of all. Buffy was just plain confused but this hypocritical bastard who found a vengeance demon good enough to shag but a vampire too good to keep in their company even after he had been fighting alongside them all summer, he deserved whatever was coming to him. If it were not for the chip, he would almost be tempted to do Xander himself.

Don’t, William.

Once again that annoying little mystery voice whispered through the darkness from its secret hiding place.

Don’t let this happen.

Spike shrugged and ignored it, letting his demon suppress the voice into the abyss once more. However, he frowned that the desire to bite Xander was not as intense as it had been when the thought crossed his mind initially. He returned his gaze to Elizabeth who was watching her new acquisition closely, studying him like he was something under a microscope. Fortunately, her eyes were devoid of the affection she aimed in his direction and Spike felt instantly grateful for that. He would just die if she toyed with his affections the way Buffy had. He had quite enough of being used by member of the opposite sex for a dozen lifetimes.

"Are you planning on turning him?" Spike asked, needing to know what it was she had planned for Xander.

"Eventually," she offered him a warm smile and Spike wondered how a creature whose ability to generate heat had died the moment she turned into a vampire was capable of warming the room like a furnace and making him feel like he was burning up under the skin. "I sense that this one has been an agent for one of us before."

"Yeah," Spike nodded, remembering the whole debacle with Dracula. "Dracula was here a year ago, he used him."

"Ah…" Elizabeth nodded in understanding. "And how is Vlad these days? Still scaring the little girls with his Romany parlor tricks?"

"More or less," Spike retorted. "I take it you knew him?"

"He amused me for a time," she replied and noted the frown on his face, which drew a delighted chuckle from him as she leaned forward and kissed him gently, her lips melting over his own and sending a jolt of desire through Spike.

"Will you toss me aside once I’m done amusing you?" Spike found himself asking despite the tantalizing taste of her mouth.

"You need never be jealous of anyone parlaying for my affections William," she drew back and smiled at him with genuine affection. "I did not choose you to be one of my foot soldiers the way I chose this one. I let you take me because I wanted to be taken and because I sense something unique inside of you, something unexpected."

"And that is?" He cocked a brow and looked at her.

"I’m not certain," she narrowed her eyes as she eased back into her seat staring. "You are something of an anomaly, something that should not be but is. I like to find out what that is and if that means we should spend eternity together while I try to unravel your secrets, I cannot think of more pleasant way to pass the time."

"And him?" Spike stared at Xander who still wore that insipid look of adoration on his face as he continued to stare at Elizabeth.

"We require a human agent while we are in this locality," she responded. "For the moment, he will do. I very well cannot send you or my minions out during the daylight can I? I will let him prepare the way for me in this town and when I no longer need his services, then I will turn him. Isn’t that right Alexander?"

"Whatever you say Elizabeth," Xander said dreamily.

"You see?" Elizabeth turned to Spike with a smile. "Completely malleable to my needs as well as having the added bonus of being friend to the Slayer."

"You plan on killing the Slayer?" Something about that made Spike uncomfortable even though he knew it should not. He had no loyalty to her, not any more.

Elizabeth’s expression hardened like granite and for the first time those liquid eyes suddenly had the consistency of molten lava. "Killing her is the last thing I have in mind for the Chosen One. By the time I’m done with her, she will beg me to kill her. I have waited four centuries for my vengeance William and I will have it. I don’t care what face she wears, the Slayer will pay for what she did to me."

TO BE CONTINUED...