Spike stared at the Gem of Amara ring on his finger. He had staked the ditzy blonde vampiress, Harmony, as soon as he had pulled the fabled jewel from her finger. Now it was time to find the Slayer. Sure, he'd heard the rumors that the Slayer was dead, but rumor was it had been whomever had replaced the Jamaican bint Dru had killed. Spike had spent several tiring hours searching through Sunnydale for Buffy Summers when he noticed the little red haired witch sitting inside a quaint little coffee shop.

Spike grinned to himself when he slipped into the Espresso Pump unnoticed by Willow, who was totally engrossed in her textbook. He slid into the seat across from the teenage girl, and he smirked when she let out a terrified gasp after she realized who he was. Spike bite his lower lip, before he drawled, "Hello, Red. How are you?"

Willow's eyes darted around to the other patrons. Then she turned her attention to the vampire. "I-I'm not going to do a love spell for you," she hissed. "And you can't kill me here without getting lots of attention."

"I've no need for a love spell, pet. Plus, I have no intentions of killing you. I just want to know where the Slayer is."

"You mean you don't know?" Willow asked incredulously, "Buffy's dead." Willow looked down at her book, and her eyes filled with tears. "Angel killed her."

"Angelus came back?" Spike tensed up when he thought about the implications of Angelus running amok again. A slow burn filled the blond vampire's undead heart.

"No, not Angelus. It was Angel," Willow whispered. She had no idea why she was talking to Spike. Maybe it had something to do with how sorry she'd felt for him the prior year when he came to town drunk and depressed over Dru's betrayal. "The other Slayer, Faith, poisoned him and hid the antidote. After the Council refused to help, the only cure Buffy had was Slayer blood. When Buffy wasn't able to get Faith's blood, she offered herself, and he drained her."

Spike found himself incredibly pissed at his grandsire. He tried to tell himself it was because he had wanted to be the one to kill Buffy. However, Spike knew in his heart of hearts that it was because he knew that Buffy had really loved the poofter, and the son of a bitch had let her down. The vampire caught himself growling low in his chest. "Where's the prancing king of hair gel now?"

"H-he left for Los Angeles right after graduation," Willow said. Her voice was a bit stronger now, but still husky from crying. She looked at the blond vampire in speculation. Something was different about him this time around. He wasn't depressed or drunk. In fact, to Willow he seemed almost ... friendly.

"Where is Buffy buried?" Spike found himself asking. "How is Joyce holding up?" He had no idea where the sudden concern came from except maybe because the older Summers' woman had been kind to him last time he was in Sunnydale.

"You're not going to hurt Mrs. Summers," Willow said vehemently. "I'll put a pox on your parts if you do." She glared at Spike, her lips twisted into her resolve face. Willow found it almost surreal to be sitting with the blond vampire in a coffee shop in broad daylight. Funniest thing was she had stopped being scared of him almost as soon as he sat down across from her.

Spike held up his hands in surrender. "'ve no plans on hurtin' the Slayer's mum. I like the lady. Was just curious, is all. Gonna pay m' respects to the deceased before movin' on."

"Sorry. I'm not used to you not being all grrr and fangy or drunk," Willow apologized. She nibbled on her lip for a few seconds. "I really miss Buffy, you know? She was so alive and vibrant. Even though Giles always said that slayers die young, I thought she'd be the one to be different." Willow sobbed quietly and put her hands on her cheeks to catch her tears, only to change over into nervous giggles. "Just like I knew she'd never stake you. She said fighting you was too much fun."

"She said that?" Spike blinked at the revelation, and he felt shame that he had wanted to kill the blond Slayer. He slowly admitted to himself that fighting her had been the most fun he'd had in years, which was probably why he was drawn back to this shit hole of a town. Even after he had learned her first death had made the Slayer line jump to a new girl, Spike knew that she was the best slayer he had ever met.

"Yeah, she did," Willow answered. "She told me lots of things that she didn't tell Giles or Xander. She told me about the truce you two had to take down Angelus. They tried to tell us that demons can't love, but I know she questioned it because of you."

"Buffy was good because she thought for herself, Red," Spike said. "She wasn't some mindless automaton that bowed down to the will of the Wankers." He quirked an eyebrow when she giggled at the picture his words made.

"No, that definitely wasn't Buffy," Willow continued to giggle. "She quit the Council just before Angel killed her because they refused to help him. Maybe if they had, she'd still be alive." She sighed while she looked at her watch. "Buffy's buried in Restfield Cemetery if you want to pay your condolences. I have a class in 30 minutes. It was nice seeing you, Spike."

Spike watched as Willow gathered her books and left the coffee shop. He waved the waitress over, ordered a coffee, and wondered why the bloody hell he wasn't chomping on the natives starting with the little red-headed witch. He replayed the whole conversation with Willow over in his head while he tried to figure out where and when things changed for him.

Spike growled deep in his chest, and a cruel sneer crossed his features when he thought about the role his grandsire had played in the death of the slayer. He was so preoccupied with his own thoughts, he didn't notice that the people sitting nearby gave him strange looks before moving away from him. Spike's ire steadily climbed until he couldn't contain himself any longer. His eyes flashed dangerously as he strode out of the Espresso Pump into the sunlight. It was time to pay Gramps a little visit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE NEXT NIGHT

Spike entered the cemetery whistling. He had spent a pleasurable afternoon watching some hired mercenaries torture the King of Poofters himself, Angelus. What delighted the blond vampire the most is that Angelus had no idea why he had been kidnapped, beaten within an inch of his unlife and left in front of his office building for the cheerleader and the half-demon to find. Spike had decided that he would brag about the beating at a later date. Besides, he wanted a chance to give his condolences to Joyce before moving on, and he knew that Angel would have just called up the Watcher to warn him of Spike's presence in the area.

The black-clad vampire fell silent as he approached the spot that was the Slayer's final resting spot. He could feel something at the edge of his senses; another Aurelian master vampire was in the cemetery. When Spike saw Joyce alone, beside a black marble tombstone, he was suddenly worried that she had been targeted. He sauntered out of the dusk to stand next to the grieving woman.

"Hello, William," Joyce said softly, "Willow said you were in town." She smiled gently at the young appearing male standing beside her. It still amazed her that someone so alive and vibrant had really been dead for so many years.

"Had some business outta town," Spike replied. Unsure what to do with his hands, he shoved them in his duster pockets. "I wanted to offer my condolences b'fore I leave town, again. Your daughter was one of a kind, Joyce, and it's a pure shame that she died the way she did." His voice turned growly, and his eyes flashed gold at the end of his words.

"Thank you, William." Joyce looked up into the vampire's face. She was surprised at how upset he appeared to be with Buffy's death. "I wanted to stake him when I found out what he'd done, but I let Rupert talk me out of it. I hit the wrong damned vampire over the head with that axe on Parent-Teacher night." Joyce's voice was filled with palpable venom.

"I'm right glad you did, luv." Spike chuckled at the memory. "Wouldn't have gotten to know my Summers women if you hadn't. Speaking of Summers women, where's the Nibblet?"

"She's out with Willow and this strangely forward girl named Anya. They're doing some 'shopping goodness'." Joyce chuckled. "Their words not mine." She blinked when Spike went into full vampire mode, sniffing the air and growling menacingly.

Spike realized that the other presence in the cemetery was moving closer now, and his senses started to become overwhelmed. He stepped closer to Joyce, letting his protective growls become louder.

"Spike, what's wrong?" Joyce laid her hand on his arm. Whatever was going on, she felt no threat from the posturing vampire.

"We're not alone," Spike muttered through clenched teeth. "There's another vamp here, watching us. I won't let it hurt you, Joyce." He pushed the woman behind him, but he looked back at her questioningly when she clutched his arm.

"Spike, you would really protect me from another vampire?" Joyce asked quietly. "Even though you've actively tried to kill my daughter for several years, you'd protect me?"

Spike noticed that the other vampire stopped approaching their location, so he turned to answer the woman's questions. "Of course I would, Joyce. Just because the Slayer and I fought doesn't mean I wouldn't protect what's hers. I respected her in many ways."

Joyce chewed on her lower lip for a second before she blurted out, "I'm going to trust you with a big secret, Spike, but you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Not anyone!" She tightened her hand on the vampire's arm.

"I promise on the Slayer's soul I won't say a word," Spike vowed. He covered Joyce's hand with one of his own.

"Oddly appropriate," the woman muttered. "Buffy's not dead."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Spike sputtered. "Red said that Angelus killed Buffy!"

"That's because they all think I am dead," Buffy spat out the words. "What Angel failed to tell everyone was that he turned me." She stepped out from behind a crypt. "He let mom bury me, and I had to crawl out."

"Bloody buggering fuck," Spike growled. "I think I had those mercs go too easy on his arse." He took a step towards Buffy, inhaling sharply as he moved. She smelled the same, looked the same; the only noticeable difference was the lack of heartbeats. This certainly explained why he had felt family nearby. "How is it that the poofter is oblivious of your new status, luv?"

"I-I'm not sure," Buffy said softly. "I'm not really research girl, you know. I always had Giles and Willow for that, but I know I'm not normal. Well, for a vamp anyway." She wanly smiled over Spike's shoulder at her mom.

Spike took another step towards the vamped Slayer while his undead heart clenched at her words. Any fool knew that Slayers weren't to be turned, but apparently Angelus didn't even make it to fool status. Bloody moron! Spike had researched Slayers, even finding out things the Council didn't know about, including the fact that fledgling slayers usually went mad from the battle between soul and demon. Buffy appeared to be quite sane to him.

"He doesn't know, because she hid from him," Joyce announced. "I hid her from him, not that it was all that hard." Her voice filled with contempt. "It helped that Buffy filled the grave back in and contacted me to go get her some blood from the butcher. She was so scared she was going to hurt someone."

"Wait a second." Spike tilted his head to the side to study Buffy. "You filled the grave back in before you did anything else? You should have been under the bloodlust, wanting to find the closest human to feed upon. Are you telling me you didn't feel that?"

"No, not really. I was more pissed off than anything." Buffy searched her memory. "I hated Angel for turning me into something I loathed. I planned on beating the crap out of him, but I learned he had left Sunnydale. I wanted to follow, but I couldn't leave Mom and Dawn unguarded."

"Understand that, luv. I thought it was the other slayer that was offed. Obviously the demonic grapevine has some major breakdowns in communications."

"That was deliberate, Spike," Buffy said. "Faith's in a coma. So, I made sure there was lots of disinformation sent out, and it was easy to hide from the others. Giles and Xander left town about the same time Angel did, and Willow and Oz went on a cross country vacation over the summer. Wesley, that's a watcher, got fired and disappeared and Cordelia moved to L.A. to become an actress." She stared at Spike, who was still in a protective stance between her mother and herself. "Thanks for protecting my mom, Spike."

"Not a problem, Slayer. I like your mom ... and your little sis," Spike grumbled. "Ah, bloody hell, I like you, too. I was right brassed off when I found out you were dead. I even went down to Los Angeles and hired some mercenaries to beat the shit out of Angelus." The peroxide blond vampire chuckled. "Can't wait till I tell him why he was beaten up."

"You did that for me?" Buffy asked in a small voice as she moved to stand in front of the male vampire. She knew she was supposed to hate him. In fact, until she watched him put his own body between an apparently unknown vampire and her mother, she had planned on staking his ass for even being in Sunnydale. Now all she wanted to do was for him to tell her he'd keep her safe, too.

"You loved him and he betrayed you, pet. He deserves more than one beating for what he's done," Spike growled. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but it was cruel beyond belief to turn you. The few stories 've come across about vamped Slayers usually end with the girl awaitin' the morning sun. The struggle between the demon and the soul is too much for her to bear."

"Oh Buffy," Joyce gasped, "At your funeral that creature had the audacity to try to tell me how much he cared for you after he condemned you to possibility of killing yourself." She visibly shook with anger. "It's tempting to drive down to L.A. and give that damned vampire a piece of my mind and a well-place stake."

"Go Joyce on dustin' the poofter." Spike grinned at the woman while giving her a thumbs up.

"Oh no, dusting is too good for him," Joyce grumbled. "I'd never do that. I want the asshole to suffer!" She glanced down at her watch. "Dawn should be back from her shopping trip. I really need to get back to the house."

"We'll walk you home, mom." Buffy grinned cheekily. "Never know what could be out and about this time of night."

"Two gorgeous ladies to escort," Spike snarked. "What more could a lonely vamp ask for? Before you ask, Joyce, Dru dumped me again. This time for a soddin' fungus demon." He shuddered as he offered an arm to each Summers woman.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Nice crypt," Spike said. He followed her into the small stone building which he was quite surprised to find had been turned into a cozy habitat.

"Thanks. Mom and Dawnie helped me." Buffy chewed on her lower lip for a second. "You know, I can't let you feed on humans. I really, really don't want to stake you, but I can't let you hurt anyone." She dropped her head into her hands. "Maybe you should just leave, Spike. Go away before something bad happens."

Spike stared at Buffy while the last couple of days replayed over and over in his mind. He had the Gem of Amara. So, he could easily stake the now vamped Slayer and have his third, but somewhere between finding out she was dead and finding out she was undead, his thoughts on Buffy had changed. She'd be harder to woo than any other woman he'd ever met before in his life or unlife, but if he could make her love him her loyalty would be unwavering. If his actions the past few days were any sign, he could see himself loving her in return.

"Not leavin', pet," Spike stated plainly. He moved across the room to stand next to Buffy. "Not too thrilled about the diet change, but if that's what it takes..." for you to be mine "... then that's what it takes."

"Why, Spike? Why this sudden change in attitude? I'm still the Slayer, just with a bit of vampirism on the side." Buffy slid down the wall to sit on the cold, stone floor.

"Not a sudden change, luv. More like a sudden realization." Spike sat down next to Buffy. "When Red told me that you had died saving Angel, I was angry. You loved the wanker, and he killed you. Not only did he kill you, he turned you."

"You said that turned slayers go mad and kill themselves." Buffy stared at the male vampire sitting next to her. "So what made me so different then the others?"

Spike shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe because you died once already or maybe because killing the Master did it. Not really sure, but I know one sure thing. You outed me as the youngest master vampire in Council history."

"You know, the Council has several different stories on your history. One says you're 200 years old and another says you're only 150. So, what's the truth? Come on, you can tell me. It's not like I'm going to report it to them."

The two vampires talked until dawn, filling each other in on their life's history. When the sun rose, Buffy offered the male vampire a place to spend the day as long as he behaved himself, to which Spike solemnly swore he would be a gentleman and not take advantage.

For the next several weeks, the two vampires were inseparable. They spent almost all of their time together, and Spike soon discovered that drinking pig's blood wasn't all that bad, especially since there were plenty of demons drawn to the hellmouth for the pair to kill. Every time they fought, Spike was reminded of the fight in the magic shop the year before. He soon realized that fighting along side Buffy was even more fun than fighting against her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wake up, Faith," the voice whispered in her ear. "You've gotta wake up."

Faith opened her eyes and found herself standing in front of a tombstone marked 'Buffy Summers 1980 - 1999 SHE SAVED THE WORLD ALOT' She jumped back when the dirt began to give way in front of the marble slab, and a hand reached up into the air. Faith noticed some movement to her right. When she turned to look she saw Buffy standing next to her watching the ground.

"He killed me, you know," Buffy whispered. "You're the Slayer now. The real Slayer, Faith. You've gotta do your duty. There's no one else to do it now." She reached out to grab the hand sticking out of the grave. She gave a hard pull, and a vamped Buffy emerged from the soil.

"Who killed you?" Faith asked.

"Angel, of course." Buffy sighed. She brushed dirt out of the vamped Buffy's hair. "Who did you think I mean? The cheeseman?" The Buffys gestured to a nearby table where a bald man had a variety of cheese slices laid out on plates.

"Slayer, we have to go now." Spike came out from behind a crypt, game-faced, bleach blond hair, and dressed in his typical black clothes.

"How can we change the waltz if we don't change the tune?" Another Spike came out to stand by the first one. However this one was looked human, had longish curly dark hair, and he was dressed in an old fashioned suit.

"Buffy, who are they?" Faith asked as she eyed the two hot male specimens.

"That is my Want..." the human Buffy replied.

"Take," the vamped Buffy broke in.

"Have," the two Buffys said together. They looked at each other before walking towards the two males. As they walked they moved closer and closer together until Faith could see their bodies merging into one. Buffy stopped in front of the two men where she reached up and cupped a cheek on each one. "He makes me safe. He's my protector."

"Buffy..." Faith said.

"You have to wake up now, Faith. You're the Slayer. The Hellmouth can't go unprotected, and I have things I have to get done." Buffy pushed the two males closer together, and Faith watched as they, too, merged into one being. "I have to protect the Key."

Faith gasped for air, and her eyes popped open. She glanced around and realized she was in a hospital. Faith searched her memories, remembering the fight with Buffy, the fall from her apartment, and then nothing until the dream that had awakened her. She pulled the I.V.s from her arms, and then she cautiously sat on the side of the bed. The cool floor felt slick and smooth beneath her bare feet.

Faith stood up and made her way out into the hallway. She ignored a woman who tried to ask for directions and exited the hospital still wearing her gown. Faith noticed the strange looks she was getting from cars driving by and actually flipped the bird to some nasty looking biker who wolf whistled at her. She looked down at herself, and she giggled once she realized her butt was hanging out. Faith wrapped the gown around herself better before setting out for the cemetery that she thought she'd recognized from the dream.

Faith stopped at the cemetery entrance, took a deep breath, and pushed the gate open. She was glad it was daytime since she was without a stake. She walked towards the area that she instinctively knew that Buffy was supposed to be buried. Faith spotted the white marble tombstone. She didn't know how long she stood in front of it, staring at the words.

"Faith, you're awake," Willow said softly. She was surprised when she saw the dark haired slayer standing in the cemetery, and truthfully she had been a little bit frightened, too.

"Yeah, Buffy told me I had to wake up," Faith muttered. "Gotta love those Slayer dreams. So who was the hot, bleached blond, punk vamp that B was hanging out with in the dream?" She glanced sideways at the redhead.

"What?"

"Yeah, it was a weird dream. I was here, and a hand came up from the grave. Then, Buffy was standing beside me, telling me I'm the Slayer now and that Angel killed her. She grabbed the hand and pulled out a vamp Buffy." Faith's face scrunched up in memory. "Then these two guys came out from behind the crypt talking about leaving and dancing. One was human, and one was a vamp dressed all in black with a long black coat and bleached blond hair."

"That describes Spike." Willow tilted her head while she fluttered her hands. "Wonder why he was in the dream?"

"B said he was her 'want, take, have' and that he was her protector. Then the two Buffys merged into one, and she merged the two guys into one. What the heck is the Key?"

"Wow," Willow muttered. "Maybe you should write this all down so we can send it to Giles. Spike was in town a few weeks ago, and he did seem pretty upset when he heard that Buffy was dead."

"I think the dream was telling me that Buffy's not dead, Wills," Faith said softly. "I think Buffy's a vamp."

"But, I don't understand," Willow muttered. She suddenly realized what Faith was implying. "You think Angel turned her?"

Faith nodded slowly. The dream had been odd, and just a bit crazy, but she was sure that's what it implied. Buffy was vamped and had her own mission to fulfill, while Faith took over the Slayer duties on the Hellmouth. She figured she and Willow could easily keep Buffy's secret from the others. It would be hard being part of the group again, after what she'd done before, but Faith decided she wanted Buffy to be proud of her.

"That asshole," Willow growled. "He said nothing! Next time I see him, I'm gonna pox his parts."

"I think we should keep this to ourselves, Willow," Faith said. "We'll just tell the others that when I woke up and found out Buffy was dead that I wanted to be the Slayer again. Whatever is going on is pretty darned important for me to get a Slayer dream." She stuck her hand out to Willow, who glanced down at it before she nodded and took the offered hand.

"I agree. I'll start contacting the others." Willow nodded emphatically. "Besides there've been some strange things going on around the campus lately. There have been sightings of ninja like guys darting around after dark, and in Sunnydale. That can't be anything of the good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy glanced over to watch Spike while he hummed along with one of the songs blasting out of the car stereo. Her taste in music was a bit more bubblegum than his, but considering what he had given up for her, Buffy was more than willing to let him have his way in his own car. She smiled when he grinned affectionately at her. Buffy couldn't believe she was leaving Sunnydale with her one time mortal enemy, off to meet up with Joyce and Dawn in Aspen, Colorado. She glanced back down at the travel brochure from the Mountain Chalet condominiums while she dreamed about seducing Spike with hot chocolate by firelight.

Two weeks before, when Spike had mentioned having a strange dream that involved a dark haired girl that he instinctively knew was a Slayer, Buffy and himself, Buffy had been astonished. They had no idea what the Key could be, but they knew after a run in with some black-clad men with tazers that staying in Sunnydale was impossible. It was then that Spike and Buffy approached Joyce with the idea of leaving the town behind. Spike was adamant that he wanted his girls safe from harm.

A trip to Los Angeles took them to a club called the Caritas that was a violence free zone. When Spike and Buffy had crooned out a duet as payment for information on communities that were protected in the same way the club was, The Host had practically passed out in his chair. Spike and Buffy were surprised when he hustled them to his office for a very private consultation.

"Have a seat, my blond brownies." The Host gestured towards two hardback chairs facing his desk while he ignored the growl that came from the male vampire. "I've never seen such complicated destinies before. And your auras?" He put his hand over his heart. "Never have I seen two in such sync."

"Complicated destinies?" Buffy whispered. She didn't like the sound of that one little bit.

"Oh yes, darling." The Host sat down in the chair on across the desk from the two vampires. "I saw both. First was the 'what could have been'. What an epic movie it could have been. I can see James Marsters playing the evil vampire with a hidden heart of gold, in unrequited love with the slayer destined to kill his kind, superbly played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Ah, the sex, the soul, the sacrifice, the joyous reunion. It would have made millions."

"Soul?" Buffy asked. She glanced sideways at the perplexed male vampire.

"His, not yours, Slayer." The Host sat back in his chair and clasped his hands together across his chest. "Beautiful boy, William was. Loved his mother like there was no tomorrow." He once again ignored the growling vampire and focused his attention on the Slayer. "However, it's the 'what will be' that we're concerned about, yes? It is good that you are now an immortal Slayer, cupcake, because the Key is also immortal. She will need her protectors with her always."

"The Key is a she?" Buffy leaned forward in her chair. "She who?" She felt Spike stiffen next to her, his ire shaken by the empath demon's words.

"She's someone who you would protect with your life, which is kinda convenient, if you ask me." The Host suddenly grinned brightly. "Verily, we look but do we see, is it dusk or dawn in our dreams?*"

"Dawn? Dawn's the..."

"Shhh," The Host put his finger to his lips. "Walls can have ears. Now about the little matter we discussed downstairs?" He pulled out a notepad, grabbed a pen, and wrote something on the top sheet. The Host ripped the sheet off, and he handed it to Spike. "Contact this demon, he knows of several communities across the world that are safe havens like the one you're looking for."

Spike glanced down at the paper, nodded, and shoved it in his duster pocket. "Thanks, mate. If you ever need us, just give us a jingle." He held his hand out to Buffy. Spike helped her to her feet after she placed her hand in his.

"Is there something we can call you besides The Host?" Buffy asked.

"Well, the name given to me in my home dimension is quite unpronounceable, but for you sweet things, you can call me Lorne." The Host was amused by the two blonds, and he knew he'd see them time and time again over the next millennium.''

"I'm not a sweet thing," Spike growled from the doorway. He ushered Buffy out the door, slamming the door behind them. Their supersensitive hearing caught the words the empath demon whispered in their wake.

"You just keep telling yourself that," Lorne whispered to the empty room, "But I know better and so does your little Slayer.

"You're thinking pretty hard there, luv." Spike glanced over at Buffy. "Anything the matter?"

"Nope." Buffy smiled softly before she scooted across the seat to lay her head on the male vampire's shoulder. "Just thinking about the visit with Lorne. I can't believe the brash 'I'm gonna kill you' vampire that blew into Sunnydale two years ago is now the most important man in my life."

"You don't mind leaving your friends behind, Slayer?"

"I'll miss them terribly, but, no, I don't mind." Buffy linked her fingers with Spike's. "I have Mom and Dawn. And, you, of course. What more could a girl need?"