He never did.

"See?" she said to Spike, who was slowly, cautiously leaning back against the sofa, his side to the upholstery. "I told you he wasn't d-dangerous. He won't hurt you. He's really pretty easygoing, Sweetie. His real name's Macrea, but I usually just call him Mac. He's a...a mutt, I guess you'd say. Part deerhound and part...well, something else. I don't really know what. But he's very sweet, and gentle, and won't hurt you at all. The only time he ever even tries to be scary is when he th-thinks there's a threat...t-to me. And...now that he knows that you're not..."

Spike allowed himself to relax a little, breathing in the scent of the dog, taking comfort in the fact that there was no trace of fear or misery in the dog's odor. Mac seemed to be a happy, healthy pet, well cared for...and not at all the sort of creature Spike would have expected to find in the hellish place where he had spent the last few months.

Maybe it's true...maybe I'm not...not there anymore...maybe she's really not one of them...really won't hurt me...

After all, he had learned well that his senses could be easily fooled by his cruel captors - but no one could make a dog fake happiness. And the men who had kept him prisoner had not exactly seemed like the type who would have a cherished pet such as Mac around.

After a few moments, Mac lifted his head from Tara's lap, gazing up at the sofa where Spike sat. Tara watched him to see what he would do, her stomach giving a slightly warning lurch as the large dog rose to his feet again. She caught his collar in her hand - just in case - unwilling to allow any unexpected reactions on Mac's part to break down the trust she felt she had just built in the damaged, frightened vampire.

To her relief and amusement, however, Mac just laid his head on the edge of the sofa, letting out a soft sigh as he turned his liquid brown eyes toward Spike expectantly.

Spike just barely had time to tense as he sensed the nearness of the dog again, before he heard its sigh, followed by Tara's easy laugh of approval and amusement.

"Aww, looks like he likes you, Spike," she explained gently. "I think he wants you to pet him some more."

Spike could feel the slight brush of the dog's fur against the side of his hand, and he cautiously raised it from the sofa, slowly extending it until he felt Mac's head under his fingertips again. Very slowly, still acutely aware of how easily the huge dog could hurt him if he wanted to, Spike kept his touch gentle and delicate, just barely stroking over the surface of Mac's neck, up to his head and the silky fur behind his ears. As Mac kept perfectly still, Spike began to feel more comfortable, and his touch became more sure as he continued to pet the dog, whose tail began slowly wagging against the floor.

Satisfied that Mac had accepted their guest, Tara rose from the floor with a soft sigh of relief, brushing the remnants of Mac's fur from her worn, faded jeans. She moved toward the sofa again, reaching out to brush Spike's hand as she hesitated before sitting down.

"Is there anything you need, Spike?" she asked him softly. "Another blanket? Some b-blood? Anything?"

The vampire was awed by her gentle question, and he lowered his head a bit shyly, a thick lump in his throat obstructing any attempt he might have made to answer. He shook his head slightly, well aware of the note of exhaustion in Tara's voice, and unwilling to put her to any more trouble.

She had already done so much for him.

"Okay," Tara replied with a soft smile as she nudged Mac gently out of the way and sat down on the sofa beside Spike. She carefully rearranged the blanket over both of their laps before extending a cautious hand to rest over his again, her free hand patting her leg in a beckoning gesture to Mac, who obediently approached her and curled up on the carpet at her feet, his head resting on her foot. "Are you comfortable? Is this good?"

Spike nodded again, his head dipping even lower as he leaned against the sofa on his side, until his temple lay against the back of the sofa. His one good eye was closed, and Tara knew that he had to be exhausted. Neither of them had gotten much sleep over the past couple of days, and she had no way of knowing how long it had been since he had been allowed a decent night's sleep at all.

She sat there in silence beside him, her fingertips lightly stroking over the back of his hand as she simply watched him, wondering once more about all the mysteries of his past, the things he had been through, how he had come to be in that magic shop where she had found him. Answers would have to wait, she knew; in fact, she couldn't be sure that he would ever be able - or willing - to answer her questions.

Certainly not at the moment; he seemed on the verge of collapse.

She wanted to put her arm around him, to hold him close and comfort him, but was sure that that would be too much at this point. Spike was just barely beginning to become comfortable with the soothing touch of her hand on his; anything more intimate would be more likely to frighten him back to full wakefulness, just when he seemed to be drifting off to sleep again.

At the moment, he didn't seem to need any additional help relaxing.

Tara watched with mingled affection and amusement as Spike's body visibly sagged against the sofa, his head lolling forward, little by little, until finally it came to rest against her shoulder. She was glad that by the time it did he was already sound asleep. If he had been awake to notice their accidental closeness, he would likely panic, fearing punishment for his presumption.

She settled into the couch cushions a bit more comfortably, allowing her head to fall back against them with a heavy sigh. The comfortable weight of the vampire against her shoulder, the soft warmth of the blanket that covered her, and the soothing warm weight of Mac's head and neck against her leg - all served to bring her exhaustion back to the surface.

She closed her eyes, thinking that as Spike was sleeping, it would not be such a bad thing to allow herself a bit more of the rest she had not gotten the night before. Her own needs, such as sleep, hygiene, food...all had been of necessity neglected over the past couple of days, as she had focused all her attentions on the matter at hand - helping the mysterious vampire she had seen in her dreams, who had by some miracle of fate found his way directly into her path.

By this point the thought of a long hot shower followed by a good meal was incredibly appealing...but not quite appealing enough to draw her out from under the comfort of the blanket and into the kitchen to make a meal.

God, *food*! I'm so hungry...if I could just...get up...but...so...sleepy...

By the time Tara awakened several hours later, she was beyond hungry. She was ravenous.

And her left arm was asleep.

She blinked sleepily, looking beside her at Spike, who was still fast asleep. Over the past few hours, he had fully collapsed against her, in sleep, completely forgetting the fears and inhibitions that made him keep his distance while awake. His one good eye was closed, the other patched over completely with bandages, his face slack and peaceful, his lips slightly parted in a way that Tara could not help but find adorable. She studied him for a few moments longer, before the rumbling of her stomach distracted her once more.

Okay, yeah...utter, unbelievable cuteness...but...*food*! She grimaced slightly as she shifted on the sofa, carefully extracting her dead arm from beneath Spike's weight. As she did, she not-too-discreetly - because who was watching, anyway? - sniffed, her nose crinkling in distaste as she sighed wearily. And a shower...yeah...that would be really good...

She gently shifted her foot out from under Mac's weight; the large dog stirred slightly, but did not fully wake. Tara carefully eased the sleeping vampire onto his side on the couch, his upper half taking up the spot she had just vacated, and covered him over with the blanket again before making her way toward the kitchen. She opened her cupboards one after another, searching for something quick to prepare.

*Gotta* be quick...don't know how much longer I can wait...

She finally settled on boxed macaroni and cheese.

Ten minutes to prepare...perfect...

Twenty minutes later, the macaroni and cheese was gone.

As Tara rose to her feet to take the dishes to the sink, she heard the slight creaking of the kitchen door she had left half-open, and turned to see Mac padding through the doorway to join her. She smiled, holding out a hand to him as he approached her, carefully setting the dishes in the sink with her other hand, wary of making too much noise and disturbing the sleeping vampire in the next room. Mac gave her hand an affectionate lick, and she petted him for a few moments before turning her attention to straightening up the kitchen.

Once she was finished, she filled Mac's food dish and set it down for him, next to his water bowl. Satisfied that Spike would be safe alone with Mac, now that their introductions had been made and they seemed to have accepted each other, Tara headed up the stairs to the bathroom. She smiled, humming a little to herself as she took out towels and shampoo and her favorite vanilla-cinnamon scented body wash. She could already feel the warm, pleasant pounding of the water against her skin.

She took her time in the shower, breathing in the sweet-scented steam that quickly filled the bathroom, relishing the feeling of the silky lather against her weary body. She waited until the water began to turn cool before finally turning it off and stepping out of the shower, wrapping herself in her lavender robe made of soft terry cloth. She wrapped her hair in the towel she had brought, then stepped out into the hall.

Mac immediately appeared in the doorway to her room, tail wagging, eagerly waiting for her to go into her bedroom to dress. With a soft, "No," and a gesture of her hand back toward her room, Tara gently prevented him from following her as she quietly descended the stairs to look in on Spike.

He was still sound asleep on the couch.

Reassured that she still had plenty of time before he would awaken, she headed to her bedroom to get dressed.

Mac was waiting for her in her room, and she greeted him with a warm smile and some gentle petting as she glanced at the clock on her nightstand, and promptly reconsidered actually getting dressed. It was already 4:00 pm, and pajamas seemed the more pleasant and comfortable route to take at the moment. She picked out her favorite set of pajamas and sat down at her desk to brush her hair.

Once she was finished with her usual routine, she glanced around her room, her eyes coming to rest on her bookshelf. Her thoughts took a decidedly heavier note as she remembered the strange symbol she had seen on Spike's back, and wondered again what it might mean. She rose and went to the bookshelf, selecting a volume that she knew had several chapters on various mystical symbols.

Maybe if I can find it...I can figure out what it's supposed to do...what it means...

She took the book back to her desk and sat down, opening it on the desk in front of her. There were dozens of signs and symbols, with varied meanings, but none that seemed at all to resemble the one that had been seared into the vampire's flesh. As she continued to study, a frown of frustration creased her brow, as her efforts yielded no immediate results.

A little shiver of fear and revulsion ran through her as she remembered the terror she had felt in the moment when she had touched the strange mark...the sense of some dark, malevolent presence that was terribly angry at what she was trying to do...

Gotta figure this out...gotta find out what that thing is before I can try any more healing spells to help him...

Tara spent the next few hours poring over every relevant book she owned, and a few that proved to be irrelevant, seeking the answers to the mystery of the strange symbol on Spike's back. Every half hour or so she roused herself from her studies and made her way down to the living room to be sure that the vampire was still sleeping. She did not want him to wake up alone, but she was fairly certain he would sleep for a long time, after the exhausting day he had experienced thus far.

And besides...she really needed a break.

It felt good to be doing something that felt as familiar as studying, and studying magic in particular, after so long away from it. She became more and more focused as she read, but gradually her sense of satisfaction began to fade, and the tension rose up in her again as her efforts revealed no answers to the mystery she was trying to solve.

An abrupt crashing sound from downstairs startled her, and she jumped with a little yelp of surprise. Several thumps followed the first sound, and Tara rose to her feet, alarmed, as she moved toward the bedroom door. Spike's piteous whimpers were all the more motivation it took for her to hurry down the stairs to his aid, her heart torn by the aching desperation in his hoarse, pleading words.

"No...n-no, please...please, don't!"