Subject: [SpikesSalvation] Normal's A Place in Illinois- Chapter 6
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 18:45:26 -0800 (PST)
From: Jerusha Hancock <enigmaticblue@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: SpikesSalvation@yahoogroups.com
To: SpikesSalvation@yahoogroups.com


Chapter 6: The Faults of Men

"No more be grieved at that which thou hast done:/
Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud./
Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,/
And loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud./
All men make faults, and even I in this,/
Authorizing thy trespass with compare,/ 
Myself corrupting, salving thy amiss,/
Excusing thy sins more than thy sins are;/
For to thy sensual fault I bring in sense--/
Thy adverse party is thy advocate--/
And 'gainst myself a lawful plea commence./
Such civil war is in my love and hate,/
That I an accessory needs must be/
To that sweet thief which hourly robs from me." ~Shakespeare


Giles was taking his first sip of coffee when Spike wandered up the stairs from 
the basement. "Oi, Rupert," Spike said, yawning.

"Good morning, Spike," he replied. "Sleep well?"

The younger man considered his question for a moment, then shrugged. "Well 
enough. Would you mind me using your loo? The girls'll be up any minute and 
I've still got my clothes in your room."

He nodded. "Certainly. Though, I would remind you we're going to meet my friend 
at the university later."

Spike nodded, then flushed slightly. "Hope you didn't need me lookin' any 
nicer, Watcher. I don't have much in the way of clothes."

"Whatever you have will be fine, I'm sure. Elizabeth isn't one for pretense." 
He watched as Spike went out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the second 
level. The younger man did seem a little more rested today, though there was 
still a worn look about him. Well, he hoped Liz would be able to do something 
for him.

"Hey, Giles," Buffy said, coming into the kitchen. "You're up early."

"As are you," he pointed out. "I happen to have an appoinment at the university 
this morning. I'm taking Spike to see an old friend of mine."

Buffy glanced over at him, a sly look in her eyes. "Your friend is old, right?"

He gave her the look he always gave her when he thought she was being silly. 
"Actually, she is old. Probably twenty years my senior, though she would string 
me up if she knew I'd said that."

"My lips are sealed," Buffy replied, pouring herself some coffee. "Is Spike up 
yet?" she asked nonchalantly.

"He went to get cleaned up in the master bathroom, I believe." Giles watched as 
Buffy puttered around the kitchen, pouring herself a bowl of cereal and trying 
not to look as though she were waiting for something. Or someone.

Spike came downstairs just a few minutes later, dressed in the requisite black 
jeans and a blue t-shirt that looked new. His hair was still damp from his 
shower, and Giles couldn't help but notice the way he seemed to freeze when he 
looked at Buffy. As though he couldn't quite believe his good fortune. As 
though she were going to turn on him at any moment. He was still wound 
wire-tight, and that wouldn't change until he felt more secure in who he was 
and what he had to offer.

"Hey, Spike," Buffy said softly. "I like the blue."

The ex-vampire looked suddenly shy. "Yeah, thanks for that, luv."

"Sit down," she said. "I'll get you something to eat."

"I got it," he replied. "Better drink your coffee before you have to leave for 
work." She touched his arm as she passed him in the narrow confines of the 
kitchen, and he flinched slightly. It was one thing to take her caresses in the 
night. He knew about that, knew that was where their relationship had always 
belonged. But when she touched him like that, casually, in the daylight, it 
felt wrong. Good, but wrong, as though a bolt of lightning were about to come 
down out of the sky at any moment. Their eyes met then, and something passed 
between them, a sort of understanding that made Buffy actually grab his hand 
and give it a squeeze. And then she let him go, and the moment passed, and he 
went on to eat his breakfast.

Buffy left in a whirl fifteen minutes later, and Dawn came down the stairs to 
join the men in the kitchen. "Buffy already leave?"

"Yeah, Bit, you just missed her," Spike replied, giving Dawn's hair a friendly 
pull.

"Stop that," she said, but there was no irritation in her voice. "What are you 
guys doing today?" she asked.

"We have an appointment to see one of my friends at the university," Giles 
replied.

Spike immediately caught the disappointed look on her face, and he glanced over 
at the Watcher, meeting his eyes. "Maybe you could come with us, Bit. The 
appointment shouldn't take that long, at least they won't need me for much. An 
hour or so, we'll get out of there, do something."

"Really?" she asked. "You wouldn't mind?" she asked, turning to Giles.

"I believe something to that effect might be arranged," he replied. "But you'll 
have to hurry, Dawn. We need to leave in a half hour."

"I'm on it," Dawn replied, racing up the stairs, leaving the two men to their 
coffee.

"Sorry if you didn't want company, Rupert, but the Bit's feelin' down and out 
lately. Wanted to cheer her up if I could." Giles normally stern features 
softened when he saw the earnestness on Spike's face.

"It's quite all right. We'll work it out when we get there. Speaking of—" he 
went to the door as the doorbell rang and collected the keys to his rental car 
from the driver. "I will say this for Americans. They're rather good when it 
comes to convenience."

Spike frowned slightly as Giles' voice floated into the kitchen, remembering 
another time when convenience was so all-bloody important. His memory flashed 
back, and he shook it off. There was something in his Slayer's eyes that hadn't 
been there before, something in her smile. And yet, she might have told her 
Watcher about their relationship, but the real test would be whether or not she 
told her friends, and what she would do when the inevitable storm broke. Then 
he would see whether he would be staying or going, because he needed something 
more from Buffy. He needed her to back him to the fullest, because he didn't 
have the resources to keep himself together without that this time around.

~~~~~

Spike followed Giles into the narrow hallway leading to the Classics 
department. "Doesn't look like much," Spike muttered.

"It's a bit cramped," Giles admitted, "but it seems to be a common malady in 
Classics departments the world over. It's only the science buildings that get 
all the space, you know."

"Rupert?" An older woman exited one of the office doors, smiling. "It's so good 
to see you again." She walked up to Giles and pulled him into an embrace, which 
he returned warmly.

"It's good to see you too, Lizzie." Giles pulled back and looked back at his 
companions. "Lizzie, this is Sp—er, William, and Dawn. This is Dr. Kearns"

"Ah, of course." She smiled at both of them impartially. Spike thought she was 
probably somewhere around her late sixties or early seventies. Her iron gray 
hair was cut stylishly short, and the lines around her mouth and eyes were 
those that came from a lifetime of laughter. Her dark eyes were warm, and there 
was an immediate sense of  connection. He liked this woman.

"Dawn is Buffy's younger sister. I told you about both of them, I believe." 
Giles gently pushed Dawn forward, and the girl complied by holding out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you," Dawn said self-consciously.

Liz shook her hand. "It's my pleasure," she replied, sounding as though she 
meant it. "You know, Rupert, I hardly think Dawn wants to be cooped up with a 
couple old fogies. Why don't you leave William and I to talk and come back in 
an hour or so? We can catch up then."

"If you're sure?" Giles replied uncertainly.

"Well, I won't bite, and I'm sure William won't." There was a hint of mischief 
in her voice that made Spike's eyes narrow suspiciously, wondering what exactly 
Giles had told her about him.

"Yes, well," Giles muttered. "We'll be back in about an hour then."

Spike wasn't precisely worried about being left alone with Dr. Kearns, but he 
had the distinct impression that the Watcher hadn't told him everything, and he 
didn't like that feeling one bit. Liz turned to him, smiling. "I suppose Giles 
didn't tell you anything."

Spike hesitated, hands sunk deep into his pockets and shoulders hunched. "Well, 
he told me you had a problem an' I could help you solve it."

She smiled. "That's the truth, but not the whole of it. Come on in, and I'll 
explain the rest." She led him into the office. "Would you like a cuppa?"

"Please." She pointed him to a chair by his desk and poured two mugs of tea.

"The problem that I need help with involves finding a graduate assistant," she 
explained, handing him a mug.

Spike frowned. "He thought I could help you find an assistant?"

"No, he thought you would be perfect."

"Me?" Spike sputtered. "You've got to be kidding."

She raised her eyebrows. "Why would I be? From what Rupert said, you received a 
degree from Cambridge."

He hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"And you received a classical education? Which would make you fluent in both 
Latin and Greek." She regarded him calmly.

Spike wasn't sure where this line of questioning was going, but he was willing 
to follow along for a while. "That's right."

Liz smiled. "Really? That's very unusual these days."

"My father was a stickler," Spike said smoothly. It wasn't precisely a lie, 
since his father had been a stickler. And after his father died, his mother had 
insisted on a good education for her son, believing it to be his best chance 
and his best asset.

"And when exactly did you graduate from Cambridge?" she asked.

Spike froze. He knew there had been a revised college diploma in with the rest 
of the documents that Giles had handed him, but he couldn't for the life of him 
remember the date. And he knew that Liz probably knew. Meeting her eyes he 
realized that his earlier impression had been correct, and he decided to go for 
the truth, assuming she already knew it. "1878. But you already knew that."

Her lips twitched. "I did. You must understand, William, that I have had three 
different assistants in three years. And I like to keep them with me until they 
graduate." She paused to sip her tea. "Those who come here are unacquainted 
with the realities of magic, especially as they manifest on the Hellmouth. I 
believe my first student was killed, probably by vampires, though she just 
disappeared one day. The second informed me very politely after the first 
semester that this wasn't what he signed up for and left to pursue other 
avenues."

"Both common maladies in Sunnydale," he observed, with a twist of his lips. 
"And the third?"

"Was sucked in. He decided he liked magic and its effects more than studying 
it, and he left to pursue the black arts." Liz met his eyes, any hint of humor 
gone. "When Rupert told me he may have solved my problem, I was skeptical. But 
with your background, you understand both the reality and the danger inherent 
in magic of any kind, even if we are simply doing research about ancient 
practices and religions. If you are willing to give it a go, I would be."

"You're right," Spike said quietly. "I don't trust magic. Sounds absurd comin' 
from me, but it's not really natural, and it's dangerous. There're always 
consequences. Seen some of 'em first hand."

"You're talking about Buffy," Dr. Kearns said quietly.

"Damn right," Spike replied. "Rupert told you about it."

She nodded. "I was one of those he consulted after the spell was done. There's 
a bit more to this job than just research. You'd be a full-fledged graduate 
student, which means taking classes, and you'd be teaching my Greek mythology 
course, as well as helping me with the beginning Greek and Latin classes. Is 
this something you'd consider doing?"

"I don't know why you'd want me," he replied. "My Greek and Latin are rusty, to 
say the least, and I haven't been in a classroom in over a century. There's got 
to be blokes more qualified than I am."

"I believe your wide knowledge of the supernatural more than compensates," Liz 
responded. "Have you ever taught before?"

Spike paused, and then shrugged sheepishly. "Yeh, I taught. Was pretty decent 
at it really. I still don't understand why you want me, though."

She smiled slightly. "Did Rupert tell you where we met?" When he shook his 
head, she went on. "It was after he registered at university for the second 
time. He'd gone through his youthful rebellion, and had wound up being a party 
to the death of a friend. Rupert was in a great deal of emotional pain when he 
came to me. I'd asked to have a student assigned to me as a research assistant 
and he volunteered. There were those who called me crazy, literally, for taking 
him on. There were rumors flying as to what had really happened, and I knew 
there was some truth to them, mostly because I asked him. But I believed he 
wanted to change. When Rupert called me, he told me much the same thing about 
you."

"So you want to put the pieces back together?" Spike asked, his tone bitter.

"Is that what you want?" she asked. "I need an assistant. You need a job. It 
sounds like a match made in heaven to me."

"I'm assumin' my services don't come for free," he said.

"There's a significant stipend, which would be retroactive to the beginning of 
this summer if you'd be willing to start on Monday," Liz replied, her tone 
coaxing.

Spike was still hesitant. This wasn't what he had pictured himself doing, and 
yet this was something William would have wanted so long ago. The man Spike had 
been was a scholar and a teacher, and he'd been very good at both, though he'd 
sucked as a poet. The demon he'd been wouldn't have admitted to opening a book 
if his life depended on it, though he certainly had read on and off over the 
years. But now, he was neither and both of those, and he had no idea what or 
who he wanted to be. On the other hand, this was something he could do, and it 
would allow him to help Buffy. Perhaps for now that was enough. "I'll be here 
Monday," he said.

"It'll be good to have you on board, William," she replied. "Though, I must 
suggest that you find another wardrobe by the time school begins. Nothing 
fancy, but the Classics department tends to be a bit more on the stuffy side 
than some of the others. No tie or jacket required, but you might think about 
getting that girlfriend of yours to take you shopping."

He stared at her in horror. "Don't think so. I can dress myself." He stood with 
his hand on the door, and she saw that he suddenly looked very young. "You 
really think you're doin' the right thing, Doc? 'M known for my stunning 
ability to bollocks things up."

Liz smiled. "I have every confidence in you, William. Look at my last success. 
With any luck you'll turn out like Rupert."

"Please God no," he muttered reverently under his breath, joining Dawn and the 
Watcher out in the hallway, Liz's peals of laughter echoing behind him.

~~~~~

"So let me get this straight," Dawn said. "You're getting paid to go to school 
and do research."

"Well, I'll be teaching a class too," Spike replied. They were walking through 
campus amiably, enjoying the weather and one another's company.

"That is so cool," Dawn said, giving her seal of approval. "I'd like school so 
much better if I got paid to go. Do you think I could convince..."

"Not much chance of that," Spike replied, smiling. "But stick with it long 
enough, and you too may become one of the privileged few."

"I still can't believe you graduated from college," Dawn replied, grinning at 
him. "I mean, you never seemed like the type."

"Was that an insult, Bit?" he asked mildly.

"No," Dawn said. "Well, maybe a little bit of an insult, but I didn't mean it 
that way. It's just that you were more, I don't know, the rock band type or 
something."

"Thanks, I think," he replied.

"But I think it's cool," she insisted. "That you could do both, you know. Kind 
of be both."

He gave her an intense look. "Just because people think of you one way, doesn't 
mean you can't go and upset all their expectations, Bit. I've been doin' that 
for years now."

Dawn looked a little uncomfortable, knowing that he was talking about her 
situation with her friends. "It's not that easy in high school, Spike. Besides, 
nobody really knows what to expect from you anymore. You're sorta 
unpredictable."

Spike understood better than Dawn knew, but there wasn't any way for him to 
tell her that and have her believe him. He was, to put it in cliched terms, way 
too old to understand the current state of things in public high schools. What 
Dawn didn't realize yet was that very little changed, even in a century or 
more. "How do you think I got that way, Niblet? At some point you gotta decide 
to say, 'Sod off,' and just go about your business."

Dawn just shrugged, knowing he was probably right, but certain that it wasn't 
that easy. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, pet."

"What happens if you and Buffy break up again?" Her face was solemn as she 
watched him.

"What makes you think we're goin' out again in the first place?" he asked, 
frowning.

She rolled her eyes, a classic Summers gesture. "Because Buffy told me last 
night."

"Oh," he replied, ingeniusly. "Well, I suppose I walk."

"You'd leave again?" she asked.

He stared at her. "I'd move out, yeah, but I'm not goin' anywhere." He smiled 
at her reassuringly. "You're always gonna be my girl, Lil' Bit, no matter what 
happens between your sis and I."

"That's okay then," Dawn said. They walked along towards the Summers residence 
in companionable silence. As they were nearing the house, Dawn looked over at 
Spike with a question she was too scared to voice.

"Spill it," he said, catching her look.

"Do you miss it? Being a vampire I mean?"

He shook his head in wonder. Trust Dawn to be the one to ask him that question. 
Buffy would wonder, but never say anything, and the rest of the Scoobies would 
assume or make snide comments, but the Bit had a characteristic directness when 
it came to Spike that let him know on exactly what ground he stood with her at 
all times. It was refreshing and a bit scary all at once, and it definitely 
kept him on his toes. "Being a vampire is about doing what you want, taking 
what you want, when you want," he replied thoughtfully after a moment's 
silence. "And I could tell you that I don't miss that, but I'd be lying. 
Because you've got this strength and power that no human could ever have, 
except maybe for the Slayer, and it's like a drug almost. It's why there isn't 
a vampire in history would do what I've done."

"So you do miss it," Dawn stated. "Would you go back then?"

"Not for all the tea in China," he said decisively, and when she frowned, he 
glanced up at the sky, trying to find the words to explain. "You think bein' a 
vampire is about freedom, and when that's what you are, it's true. You think 
about all those little humans, running around, tied to their lives, and you 
think you've got it made, right? But people have the ability to walk in the 
sun, and marry and have kiddies, and the white picket fence an' all that. And 
you can see beauty for what it is without wantin' to destroy it, and you can 
love someone without everybody thinkin' you'd gone off your nut."

Spike looked at her intently. "Whatever I might have wanted when I asked for my 
soul back, I wouldn't change one thing, because I got half a chance at doin' 
all those things vampires can't even hope for. No way would I go back to what I 
was, Bit, because it was a prison of sorts. I tried to break out of it for the 
longest time, and maybe under better circumstances I might of made it, but this 
seems to be the only way."

Dawn hesitated, and then reached out to touch his arm. "I'm really glad you 
came back, Spike." It was the only gift she had to give him, the only thing she 
could think of to say to all that. And it seemed to be enough.

He slung an arm around her shoulders companionably. "Come on, Bit. I saw Rupert 
givin' you some entertainment money, let's go get entertained."

~~~~~

"Hey, Dawn," Buffy said as she walked into the kitchen. "Did you and Spike have 
a nice time today?"

Dawn grinned. "Yeah. We went out to lunch and then to a movie. It was a lot of 
fun, you know? He's really easy to be around."

Buffy smiled, "Yeah, I suppose he is." Though what she was really thinking was 
that it wasn't that easy when you were still trying to figure out whether or 
not you were in love with him. "Where is Spike?"

"Downstairs. He said he wanted to work out and take a shower before everybody 
comes over tonight."

"Thanks," Buffy murmured absently as she headed towards the basement. She could 
hear the sounds of fists on a punching bag as she came down, and soon saw him. 
He was barechested, his pale skin gleaming with sweat, muscles twisting with 
his movements. He had always been lean, and while he was still too thin, he 
didn't look quite as bony. In fact, he looked just plain good. Pure physical 
attraction hit her somewhere below the belt.

"Hey," he said, pausing, though not turning around. "How was work?"

"Good," she replied. "I picked up another couple shirts for you. They were on 
sale and with my discount, it was just too much of a good deal to pass up."

He turned to look at her. "You shouldn't do that, pet. I can buy my own 
clothes."

Buffy's eyebrows went up. "Oh, yeah, how? And besides, even if you could, I 
wanted to."

He smiled, pleased, though there was a touch of smugness in his face. 
"Actually, starting Monday, I'm gainfully employed, luv."

Her eyes widened. "What? Where?"

"Two very well articulated questions," he teased. Taking pity, he explained. 
"Rupert's friend was in need of a graduate assistant, and he recommended me. 
Wouldn't have said yes, except the stipend was actually quite good. And it's 
something I know—or at least I knew how to do it, once upon a time."

Buffy's face broke out into a smile. "That's really wonderful, Spike. I'm proud 
of you."

Something seemed to light him up from the inside out. "Yeah? Wasn't much to it, 
really. If it had been that easy to get a position back when—"

"Still, you're doing something really worthwhile. I mean, a graduate 
assistant." Suddenly Buffy realized exactly what that meant. "Wait a minute. 
Does that mean you're going to be a doctor? Like, Dr. Spike? And I haven't even 
finished college yet. What does that say about me?"

Spike took her by the arms. "First of all, luv, I finished college over a 
hundred years ago, so I had a bit of a head start on you. And second, I don't 
even know if this is something I want to do. I'll give the good doctor a bit of 
a hand, see if it's something I want to stick with, and give it some time. 
Don't know that I'll last that long."

"If you want to, you will," Buffy said quietly. "You could do pretty much 
anything you put your mind to, Spike."

"Except be a successful vampire," he said wryly.

"At the moment, I am so thinking that's a good thing," she replied, suddenly 
realizing how close he was to her, and how nice he looked, and how much—

He broke away abruptly. "I should probably shower. Can't smell very nice, after 
all that."

"Wait," Buffy called. "I was going to put in some training time. Do you want to 
help?"

"Only if you want me to, luv."

She nodded. "I want you to. Let me go get changed."

They trained hard for another hour, Buffy noticing that Spike's endurance had 
gotten a lot better over the last couple weeks. While he was still tired a lot 
of the time, she thought that it was probably more due to the nightmares and 
not sleeping than the after-effects of his illness. His speed had changed, as 
had his strength, but he'd found ways around it. Spike had always been a 
cunning fighter, and now it was even more pronounced. And while she pulled her 
punches, it didn't take her long to realize that he could still absorb a lot of 
punishment and keep coming. His persistance hadn't changed a bit.

In the end, they both lay on the mat spent, Buffy grinning happily. "It's been 
forever since I've had a training session that was that good," she commented. 
"Some of those moves, I've never seen you use them before."

Spike grimaced. "Well, you try going halfway 'round the globe with no 
identification and no cash. Had to make up quite a few moves just to stay in 
one piece."

"Will you tell me about it someday?" Buffy asked.

He propped himself up on one elbow to look at her. "Tell you about this last 
year, you mean?" He considered. "Someday I will, pet. But it's a little too 
close for comfort if you know what I mean. Still can't seem to sleep without 
one eye open, waitin' for trouble."

"I understand," Buffy said quietly. "It's still a little too fresh to deal with 
right now. Like it'll creep up and bite you in the ass if you think about it 
too much."

He gave her his lopsided grin. "That's it. Had too many things taking chunks 
out of my arse recently to give something else a shot. I'd like to tell you 
about it, though."

Smiling, she replied. "Well, just let me know when and I'll be listen-y Buffy. 
I've gotten pretty good at it in the last year."

"I'll just bet you have, pet," he replied. "We'd probably better get cleaned up 
though."

"Yeah." It was like the end of a first date where neither person knows what to 
do or say to end the evening. Do you kiss? Do you hug? Do you jump his bones 
right there on the exercise mat? Thinking about it, Buffy figured the last one 
was out. Spike had definitely made that option off limits, though she was 
pretty sure she wouldn't have minded. Instead, she twisted to her feet in a 
patented Buffy move to get off the floor fast, and reached a hand down to help 
him up. "It would be nice to have some company on patrol tonight," she said 
when they were both standing. "No heroics, but I'd like it if you wanted to 
come along." At least this way she could prolong the moment.

Spike smiled as though he knew exactly what she was feeling and was enjoying 
her discomfort. "Then I'd like to go." He leaned in and kissed her on the 
cheek, whispering in her ear, "You're gorgeous after a good bout, luv." And 
then he took the stairs two at a time, whistling a happy tune.

~~~~~

Spike watched. More than anything, it was what he did now. Taste the room, the 
people, the moods. Find out what everyone is thinking, what people aren't 
saying. Figure out what they're feeling. He'd always been good at that, reading 
the Scoobies, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, where the cracks in 
their armor were. A couple years ago he filed it away so he could use it later 
to get under their collective skin. Today it was simply information, a habit 
that he'd picked up over the last century of living. Tonight, he was feeling a 
little uncomfortable. He'd more or less promised Buffy to stick around, and 
since he was going on patrol later, he couldn't very well plead exhaustion and 
go to bed. But he'd immediately realized that Xander was in a bad mood, and 
from the glances he'd been getting from the other man all evening, he had a 
feeling that it would eventually turn into a round of kick-the-Spike.

Sure enough, at a lull in the conversation, Xander looked over at him, and 
asked snidely, "So, Spike, you ever think about getting a job? Maybe stop 
mooching off Buffy?"

Before Spike could frame a decent comeback, Giles stepped in. "Actually, 
Xander, Spike has a job. Liz Kearns, the head of the Classics department at the 
university, has hired him as a research assistant."

Xander looked like someone had just hit him with a two-by-four. Whatever he had 
been expecting, that wasn't it. Willow looked surprised, but also excited. "Dr. 
Kearns? She's one of the foremost experts of the uses of ritual and magic in 
the ancient world. Her research is absolutely incredible." She gave him a big 
smile. "That's great that you get to work for her, Spike. I mean, what an 
opportunity!"

He smiled at her. "Thanks, Red. We'll see if she still wants me around at the 
end of the semester."

"Are you going to be teaching any of her classes?" Willow asked. "Her grad 
assistants usually teach the intro course for Greek Mythology."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, guess I will be teaching that one. Like I said, we'll see 
if she still wants to keep me on at the end of the semester. Hard to tell 
really."

Willow shook her head. "I've heard stories about some of the GA's for the 
Classics department. You can't be any worse than the rest of them."

He shrugged, a bit embarrassed by the attention and her unequivocal support. He 
hadn't really been sure that Buffy would be all that impressed, but to have 
both Red and the Slayer on his side, cheering him on, was a completely new 
experience.

"I think you'll do great too," Buffy said, slipping her hand into his. She'd 
deliberately taken a seat next to him on the couch, which had raised Xander's 
eyebrows, but Spike had seen it as a very subtle way of making a statement. He 
decided to make it a little less subtle.

Lifting her hand up to his mouth, he kissed her knuckles. "Thanks, pet."

Buffy's eyes sparkled with mischief, knowing exactly what he was doing. When 
she didn't say anything or try to pull her hand away, Xander spoke up, as Spike 
knew he would. "Is there something going on here that we should know about?"

Spike waited. There was still time for her to back out of it, to deny all 
knowledge, but instead she just smiled. "Spike and I are dating," she said 
calmly.

"You and Spike are what?" he asked incredulously. "What is it with you and 
vampires, Buffy?"

Spike watched as annoyance flickered across her face. "Spike's not a vampire 
anymore, Xander."

"Oh, right," the carpenter said sourly. "He's just the ex-vampire who tried to 
rape you. Yeah, he's breathing, Buf, but he's still Spike."

"Which I happen to feel is a good thing," she replied, heat in her tone. 
"Xander, what is your problem?"

"Look, Buffy, I get that he came back and he was sick and you wanted to take 
care of him. But he's obviously better now, and after what he did to you, I'd 
think you'd send him on his way, not date him again. Are you just keeping him 
around to f—"

Buffy's glare stopped him before he got the last word out, but not before it 
hung in the air, unsaid but understood. A hushed silence fell, and even Spike 
had nothing to say right away. But just as he gathered himself up to give 
Xander a good tongue-lashing followed by a fist in the face, Buffy laid a hand 
on his arm and gave a quick shake of the head.

Spike looked at her, betrayal flashing across his features. He couldn't believe 
that she was going to sit there and take it, or that she would ask him to. He 
stood abruptly, heading out of the room, a sour taste in his mouth. "Spike, 
wait," she called after him. "I think you need to hear this just as much as 
everybody else."

He paused in the doorway reluctantly. He didn't want to hear her justifications 
or defenses. What he wanted was for her to tell the Whelp to sod off and get 
his own life instead of mucking about in hers, but that would be too much to 
hope for. But still he waited.

"I'm only going to say this once," Buffy said quietly. "Spike and I are going 
out because we wanted to try to do things right this time, and we both feel 
like we have a shot at it. What happened between us is just that: between us. 
We're trying to get past it, and we can't do that if everyone is continually 
bringing it up. So that's it. No more. We'll work it out in our own time and in 
our own way.

"Another thing. Spike's my boyfriend." She looked directly at Xander as she 
said this. "That means hands off. And I mean that literally and figuratively, 
Xander. I have always been polite to the people you dated, and I expect the 
same treatment. You don't make comments like that, not to me, not to a roomful 
of people, and not to Spike. He's completely capable of taking care of himself, 
and after tonight I'm going to let him, but I want to let you know where I 
stand. There will be no more kicking of the Spike. If you can't be polite, 
you'll find yourself with a disinvite to this house until you can be, and I 
mean it." With that, she turned and walked past Spike out of the room. He stood 
in the doorway, stunned, and then followed her out to the back porch.

"Well," he said as he exited the back door. "That was something." He sat down 
next to Buffy on the steps. She leaned into him briefly in greeting.

"I'm sorry that had to happen," she said quietly.

"I'm not," he replied. "Wouldn't have passed that up for anything."

Buffy looked over at him. "I really don't get it. I swear he does this every 
time I have a new boyfriend. You think he'd just get over it."

Spike raised an eyebrow in surprise. "He and the soldier boy seemed to get on 
well enough."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, Riley was a god," she said, her voice dripping 
with sarcasm. "Riley got himself sucked on by vampire chicks and then left. And 
then he came back with a new, perfect wife." She paused, looking at him 
suspiciously. "Wait a minute here. You're supposed to be on my side. I thought 
you hated Riley."

"I did," Spike said. "More accurately, I do. However, he's the prat what ran 
off, and I'm the guy that got the girl. I can afford to be magnanimous."

Buffy laughed and shook her head. "You're too much, Spike. But you're right. 
You got the girl." They stared at each other for a long moment and Spike 
reached over to cup her cheek. "Kiss me," she whispered, "or I swear I will 
kick your ass."

His lips curved in a smile and he gave her exactly what she wanted.

---------------------------------